De la Paz surrenders, to testify at Senate

MANILA, Philippines – Retired police comptroller Eliseo de la Paz finally surrendered yesterday to the Senate where he stayed overnight to attend the public hearing today over the undeclared 105,000 euros seized from him by Russian customs authorities last October in Moscow.

“I am already here. Yes, I am ready to testify,” said De la Paz after he, together with his lawyer, arrived at the Senate in Pasay City late yesterday afternoon and was brought to the Office of the Senate Sergeant–at-Arms.

Retired Gen. Jose Balajadia, Senate sergeant-at-arms, said De la Paz stayed for the night at the holding room that has a bed, a sala set and air-conditioning unit.

Balajadia said De la Paz would attend the scheduled hearing at 10 a.m. today, which was set by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.

Placing his left hand on his chest, De la Paz said he feels tense on the eve of the hearing.

“I am nervous. Anybody feels nervous here (in the Senate),” said De la Paz, who brought a change of clothes as preparation for his overnight stay.

The senators are investigating the so-called “euro generals” who became controversial after De la Paz and his wife were held at Moscow airport last Oct. 11 for carrying undeclared cash amounting to 105,000 euros or P6.9 million, after they attended the 77thInternational Police (Interpol) General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The other police officials in the PNP delegation to the Interpol meeting were Deputy Directors General Emmanuel Carta, Ismael Rafanan, Directors Romeo Ricardo, Silverio Alarcio, German Doria and Jaime Caringal, Superintendent Elmer Pelobello, who is the aide of the delegation.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, who like De la Paz is a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1976, had earlier ordered the concerned police officials to attend the Senate hearing to clear their names.

Aside from De la Paz, the other police officials brought along their wives to Moscow. Verzosa did not attend the Interpol conference but his wife Cynthia joined the PNP delegation.

Clad in casual clothes, De la Paz was accompanied by his lawyer Noel Malaya when he arrived at the Senate at around 5:20 p.m. He proceeded at once to the office of Balajadia located at basement of the Senate offices in Pasay City.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson earlier met De laPaz and Malaya in Makati before they went to the Senate.

De la Paz said he was disheartened by the turn of events, especially after his wife Marie Fe was also summoned by the Senate.

Asked how his family is taking the controversy, De la Paz said: “They are very much affected. I had also talked to my son last night to explain to him.”

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) had included De la Paz in the watch list to prevent him from slipping out of the country.

De la Paz had already sent surrender feelers to the Senate last Wednesday, a day after Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. signed the arrest order against him for snubbing the hearing on the so-called “euro generals” controversy.

De la Paz got the ire of Santiago when he snubbed the hearing last Oct. 23 upon the advice of his lawyer who questioned the Senate committee’s jurisdiction over the issue. 

Malaya said he has filed a motion before Santiago’s committee requesting that Mrs. De la Paz be excused from the hearing.

Lacson, a graduate of the PMA like De la Paz, said he may invoke the “alright” honor code among PMAers in today’s hearing to check if De laPaz is telling the truth behind the controversy.

“A fellow PMAer asks another the ‘alright’ challenge to determine if a fellow PMAer is telling the truth. If the PMAer answers ‘alright’ back, then he is swearing that he is telling the truth,” Lacson said.

De la Paz will be detained in a holding room in the Senate basement that had earlier been prepared for former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante who was implicated in the P728- million fertilizer fund scam.

“Of course, he was surrendered so he has to be kept here,” Balajadia said.

Santiago had also summoned the seven police officials who attended the Interpol Assembly in Moscow, the owners of three money changers where the pesos were reportedly exchanged for euros, and businessman Tyrone Areola who gave De la Paz 45,000 euros to supposedly buy him an expensive wrist watch in Europe.

The wives of the euro general will also attend the Senate hearing today. Anita Carta, Evita Caringal, and Rosa Alarcio are expected at the GSIS building in Pasay.

“I am not in the position to say kung makakapunta yung mga spouses but the advice nga of the chief PNP is for all those that have been invited to attend, to comply,” said PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome.

Bartolome said the police officials who were part of the Interpol delegation were properly guided, meaning they were instructed to bring with them all the necessary documents pertaining to their trip to Russia last month.