Speaker to PACC: Turn over lawmakers’ cases to ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Lord Allan Velasco was surprised to learn from the members of the House of Representatives whom President Duterte implicated in a corruption scandal that the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) never gave them a chance to refute the allegations.

“Due process dictates that a thorough investigation be conducted to determine whether there is probable cause or evidence to support the charges against them,” Velasco said.

“Pursuant to due process, we believe that the matter should be brought before the ombudsman, given the limited jurisdiction of the PACC over officials in the executive branch, and not those in the legislature,” he added.

The lone Marinduque representative – a lawyer by profession – insisted that it is important for the concerned officials, whose names have now been unfairly maligned only because of the PACC’s failure to dig deeper into the alleged anomaly, “be given the chance to respond to the allegations of corrupt practices.”

“It appears that the PACC has not made any investigation as to the veracity of the accusations against them since they belong to another branch of government, which is not within the authority of the Commission,” he said.

Velasco lamented that “none of the representatives from PACC have invited (these House members) for questioning.”

House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez joined the Speaker in expressing full support for Duterte’s campaign to weed out corrupt officials from all levels of governance.

“We also laud his decision to issue a memorandum directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to commence an investigation into allegations of corruption ‘in the entire government’,” Romualdez said.

“In line with the President’s directive, it is now the duty of the DOJ to give the legislators named in the PACC list the proper forum to face their accusers and defend themselves,” he added.

The Leyte congressman said the DOJ will double-check and assess thoroughly the list submitted by the PACC to Duterte “to verify which of these charges have basis and which are mere products of the imaginative minds of rival politicians.”

“We do not wish that the President’s war against corruption get sidetracked by polluted sources who are engaged in local partisan politics. The President is serious in getting rid of corruption in the last remaining years of his term,” Romualdez said.

Distraction

The allegations of involvement in corruption in public works projects by several congressmen may just be a distraction from issues hounding the administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, militant lawmakers alleged yesterday.

Members of the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives expressed belief that the public naming of eight incumbent congressmen and a former congressman in the list submitted by the PACC to the Palace could just be a tactic to divert the public’s attention from controversies involving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Ferdinand Gaite and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro stressed that the list was made public at a time when the Palace was being confronted by the reported low efficacy of the Chinese vaccine Sinovac, which is the government’s main choice for procurement among the vaccines, and the inoculation of Chinese vaccine Sinopharm on some members of the Cabinet and the military despite the lack of authorization from regulators.

“Maybe, this is really not about confronting corruption, but about creating just another distraction. They are again being pinned down on the issue of VIP vaccination, that’s why they need an issue to distract the public’s attention,” Gaite said in a statement.

Castro made the same insinuation and said the administration has a habit of using diversionary tactics whenever it is pushed to the wall.

“This administration never runs out of diversions from issues, like the failure to efficiently handle the COVID-19 pandemic, both in health and economic fronts, and also the corruption among its officials,” she alleged in a separate statement in Filipino.

Both lawmakers also said the public tagging of their fellow congressmen – as the President did on officials in the narcolist and militants – is a form of “trial by publicity.”

“If there is evidence of corruption, it should go through due process,” Castro said.

Gaite argued that if Duterte really wanted to curb corruption, he should start with those involved in the VIP vaccination which the lawmaker branded as a “corrupt practice.”

“Several violations were committed, including smuggling and illegal use of unregistered health products, even if we don’t include the lack of delicadeza anymore in prioritizing Cabinet members when their own guidelines said health workers should come first,” he said.

Gaite also slammed presidential spokesman Harry Roque for claiming that the disclosure of the names of congressmen in the PACC report is pursuant to freedom of information (FOI).

“Why do they have a different stand on FOI when it comes to the SALN of the President?” Gaite said.

Probe vs Belgica pushed

Meanwhile, one of the eight incumbent congressmen named by Duterte from the PACC list has pushed for a congressional investigation against PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica.

ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Yap said he wants the House to look into how Belgica handled the probe into the alleged irregularities within the Duty Free Philippines Corp. (DFPC).

Yap said he would file a resolution calling for an investigation into the matter once Congress resumes session in January next year.

The chairman of the powerful House appropriations committee stressed that Belgica submitted the list to the Palace after being slapped with charges on this matter before the Office of the Ombudsman last October.

Yap said Belgica should have conducted preliminary investigation or verification before submitting the list to the Palace.

“Did you ask the ombudsman if I followed up on the case of Lorna Ricardo? If I tried to fix the case for her acquittal? I hope you did your job and called the ombudsman if I intervened with any case,” Yap lamented at a virtual press conference.

The ranking congressman further said Belgica should have called up the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to see if he had endorsed Ricardo to be his district engineer in Benguet or in other provinces.

“As someone from the PACC, you should be responsible because what you’re doing, you are releasing the names, it’s not an investigation, what you’re doing is a witch hunt,” Yap said.

He vehemently denied the allegation that rigged the bidding for an infrastructure project in Benguet “through his agent” while serving as caretaker-congressman of the province.

Yap vowed to resign from his post if he is proven guilty of corruption.

“I’m ready to leave. Even if the Speaker doesn’t remove me, once I’m proven guilty, I will resign,” he said.

Yap claimed that he did not participate in biddings for infrastructure projects in the province.

“They said that I meddled with the biddings for infrastructure projects; what I want to say is I have never been involved in the bidding, when I came to Benguet as its legislative caretaker on Jan. 27, all biddings have already been completed,” he said in Filipino.

“I’m not aware of the bidding and never in my life have I been involved in the bidding of the DPWH,” he added.