Legal tactic to hold back probe on Capitol deals?

Seeking a relief from the courts does not in anyway hinder the investigation conducted by the Ombudsman-Visayas on the legality of the contracts that were allegedly entered into by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia without passing through the review of the provincial board.

This was the reaction of Capitol consultant on information Pablo John Garcia on the opinion of board member Gabriel Quisumbing that the declaratory relief filed by the Governor was a "legal maneuver" to delay the investigation done by the ombudsman.

The declaratory relief, Pablo John said, was mainly to let the court explain the law.

"Such is a shallow and pedestrian observation," he pointed out, adding there are so many cases dismissed by the ombudsman precisely because these contain legal questions that only the Courts can decide upon.

Quisumbing was reportedly commenting that a portion of the declaratory relief document prayed that a declaratory judgment preventing the Commission on Audit to hold the petitioner liable was certainly a legal maneuver.

Earlier this year, the Committee on Budget and Appropriations headed by Quisumbing, was able to uncover multi-million contracts that were not reviewed and authorized by the board questioning the nature of check and balance in governance. - Ferliza C. Contratista