Ombudsman: Loi may get off the hook

Former First Lady Luisa "Loi" Ejercito will be off the hook once the Sandiganbayan grants the Ombudsman’s motion to drop five of eight criminal charges against ousted President Joseph Estrada.

Margarito Gervacio Jr., overall deputy Ombudsman, told reporters yesterday Ejercito, who is running for se-nator under the Puwersa ng Masa banner, was indicted only for graft and not in the main plunder case against her husband.

Ejercito was sued for violating the anti-graft law (Republic Act 3019) after she allegedly received P20 million of the P130-million excise tax allocated for tobacco farmers of Ilocos Sur.

However, Gervacio said Ejercito can still be included in the plunder case if prosecutors pursue the "conspiracy theory" that she and her husband had connived to
commit the crime.

Mrs. Ejercito was charged with graft along with her husband after Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson accused her of receiving the P20 million.

Gervacio warned yesterday the Ombudsman would no longer prosecute the cases against the former first lady if the Sandiganbayan does not allow the prosecutors to withdraw the four graft cases and the violation of the code of conduct for government officials.

"That is Plan B," he said. "We will not prosecute. We will be questioning before the Supreme Court the soundness of the decision. We will cite the grave abuse of discretion of the Sandiganbayan."

Gervacio said the prosecutors feel that they have justified why they wanted to withdraw the cases, and that the process has not violated the rights of the former president.

Gervacio said prosecutors decided to withdraw five of the eight graft charges to allow them to pin down Estrada in the plunder case.

Under the law, a government official can be charged with plunder if he amasses at least P50 million from illegal activities with the use of his influence.

Gervacio said the plunder complaint includes San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, lawyer Edward Serapio, Charlie "Atong" Ang, Yolanda Ricaforte, Alma Alfaro and Eleuterio Tan.

Gervacio also denied reports that the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General, and private prosecutors have been at odds over the prosecution of Estrada.

"We have always been one in any legal maneuver," he said. "The filing of the 11 informations was the effect of a series of brainstorming. Even the withdrawal of the informations, it was arrived at in unanimity. We are still united in this."

Meanwhile, former senator René Saguisag said he will question before the Supreme Court the constitutionality of Republic Act 7080, the law that inserted the crime of plunder in the Revised Penal Code.

"I have decided to question the plunder law even if I co-authored it (although I did not vote for for it) because after my term, the penalty was amended to death, to which I am philosophically opposed. Precisely, when that penalty was suggested during my term, it was shot down."

Saguisag was Estrada’s lawyer when he questioned the legality of the Arroyo administration in the Supreme Court.