Probers seek extension to comment on Expo scam

Government probers asked the Supreme Court yesterday to extend by 30 days the deadline for the submission of its comment on a pending petition questioning the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction over the Centennial Expo project in Pampanga.

Special prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman asked the High Court to give them until Jan. 20 to comment on the petition of former Vice President and National Centennial Commission (NCC) chairman Salvador Laurel.

Laurel had earlier petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the Ombudsman from investigating the allegedly anomalous construction of the P1.165-billion Freedom Ring project, a portion of the P9.6-billion Centennial Expo Park.

Laurel told the high tribunal that he was a private person when he served as chairman of the NCC and was therefore not covered by the Ombudsman, which is only empowered to probe graft cases of government officials and employees.

But Ombudsman Aniano Desierto announced on Dec. 14 that the fact-finding and intelligence bureau under his office found probable cause to indict Laurel for violation of Republic Act 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft Law.

Graft probers Mary Ann Corpus-Mañalac, Emma Suarez and Ma. Linda Llagas-Vicente stated in their findings that Laurel allegedly awarded the construction contract to Asia Construction Development Authority (Asiakonstruct) without the benefit of a public bidding.

They claimed that the former NCC chairman "prematurely" issued a notice to proceed with the construction in December 1996 when the contract was signed in April 1997, or four months later.

A down payment amounting to 50 percent, consisting of an initial payment of 10 percent with the remaining 40 percent paid in tranches, was made in gross violation of the 15-percent ceiling required in government audit rules, the probers claimed.

"There was manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence on the part of public respondents manifested by their failure to abide by the rules and regulations on public bidding," the investigators added.

Desierto said Laurel "compromised the secrecy of the sealed bids by prematurely opening the same in his law office" and awarded it to Asiakonstruct in December 1996 without the required "technical and financial evaluation of the bids."

Teodoro Peña, president of Expocorp which operates the Centennial Expo, was likewise recommended charged but was cleared by Desierto while Edgardo Angeles of Asiakonstruct was also excluded by the investigating panel.

The Ombudsman, however, said the filing of graft charges against Laurel before the Sandiganbayan will be deferred until Laurel’s petition is resolved by the SC.

Desierto also excluded former President Ramos from the Ombudsman’s preliminary investigation last February because he allegedly refused to upgrade the budget of the Freedom Ring from P280 million to P1.165 billion as recommended by Laurel.

"He (Ramos) refused to increase the budget. He even didn’t want the increase to be done because he twice rejected the proposal to upgrade the budget by stating in a marginal note ‘Let’s stick to original budget. We need BCDA money for other projects’," Desierto explained.

"The buck stops with Laurel," he said. "He approved the budget and even without the approval of former President Ramos."