Group vows to watch high-profile graft cases

An anti-corruption group was launched recently to follow up on high-profile graft and corruption cases in Cebu for the past four years.

The Cebu Business Club and the Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched their own “Catch a Big Pugapo” movement in cooperation with the Coalition Against Corruption’s own “Catch a Big Fish” project at the Casino Español de Cebu.

Pugapo is the Visayan name for the fish, Lapu-Lapu.

The MICCI is headed by businessman Efrain Pelaez Jr., while CBC is headed by Dondi Joseph.

The CAC is a national organization headed by Joey Cuisia and counts among its members the Makati Business Club, National Movement for Free Elections, Dilaab/Barug Filipino, Bishops Businessmen’s Conference and Code NGO, among others.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Ernesto Aboitiz of BBC, Father Carmelo Diola of Dilaab, in their letter to deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol, stated that in the interest of justice and democratic process, they want to follow up on the following cases: The Perdido Lex case in 2004, the scandal involving funding for the Girl Scouts of the Philippines in 2005 and the ASEAN lamppost case and the allegedly computer overpricing, both in 2007.

In the Perdido Lex case, former vice governor John Gregory Osmeña was accused of channeling money from the vice governor’s development fund to a bogus non-government organization, but Osmeña also threw the charges back at former Cebu governor Pablo Garcia and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

As to the ASEAN lampposts controversy, two mayors and 21 other people were already indicted in the alleged overpricing of the lampposts. The criminal cases against them were already raffled off to different divisions of the Sandiganbayan last week, signaling the formal start of the proceedings.

In the GSP controversy, in 2005, the Ombudsman-Visayas has resolved to file three counts of malversation of public funds against former 4th district congresswoman Clavel Asas-Martinez and eight others for the P26.5-million disbursement of funds.

Martinez allegedly disbursed the millions from her Priority Development Assistance Fund into her personal bank account by using the GSP as conduit in 2002 and 2003.

In the alleged computer scam, it was Pelaez himself who sued Radaza and 19 others in the city government for allegedly overpricing 470 computers, reportedly buying them for P23.4 million when they could have been had for P11.7 million at most. 

“The confidence of our people in the democratic process as well as the emergence of other whistleblowers will depend on the transparent resolution of these cases. Peace depends on this,” the letter read.    — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/BRP