Ombudsman gives Doy 10 days to answer Expo raps

The Office of the Ombudsman has given former Vice President Salvador Laurel 10 days to submit his counter-affidavit on a multimillion-peso graft case set for filing against him in connection with alleged overpricing of the Freedom Ring at Clark Field in Pampanga.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said they decided to delay the filing of the complaint to avoid losing it by technicality.

"But definitely, the charges will be filed in a few weeks time," Desierto said.

Desierto said earlier the case should have been filed last week, but was postponed due to the suspension of work declared by Malacañang because of the floods spawned by heavy rains.

The graft case stemmed from an alleged arbitrary decision by Laurel, then chairman of the National Centennial Commission, to jack up the price of the Freedom Ring from P248 million to P1.2 billion.

The Freedom Ring was constructed by from 1996 to 1997 as a center stage for the country’s observance of its centennial in 1998, with Asia Construction Development Corp. (Asia Konstract) as the general contract.

Assistant Ombudsman Hilario Apostol also cited Laurel for alleged undue haste in awarding the contract to Asia Konstract.

"That is the reason why former President (Fidel) Ramos objected to the project. It was also found out by the panel that there was no bidding conducted, and in 15 minutes time, Laurel awarded it to the private contractor," Desierto said.

He said Laurel also issued a notice to proceed with the contructions three months before the contract was executed by Asia Konstract.

"Laurel also ordered the first payment amounting to P300 million and released the money to Asia Konstract," the Ombudsman said.

The Supreme Court (SC) denied with finality last week Laurel’s plea to stop the Ombudsman from indicting him for his alleged involvement in the P9.6 billion Expo Filipino scam in 1998.

Justice Santiago Kapunan, the proponent of the ruling, dismissed the arguments Laurel presented before the court’s five-member first division and paved the way for the Ombudsman to file corruption charges against Laurel.

The SC stopped Desierto from indicting Laurel in October 2001 after he obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO), but the high court lifted the TRO on April 24. Laurel filed a motion for reconsideration.

The first division also denied with finality Laurel’s plea to present his arguments to the SC en banc.

Justices Reynato Puno and Consuelo Santiago concurred with Kapunan’s six-page decision while Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez abstained.

The ruling described as "irrelevant" Laurel’s argument that his case has "serious constitutional repercussions" because the defunct NCC included senators, Cabinet members and even SC justices.

"Such serious constitutional repercussions do not reduce the force of the rationale behind this Court’s decision," the SC said.

Laurel also argued that the charges against him were "politically motivated" and blamed jailed former President Joseph Estrada and former Sen. Nikki Coseteng for instigating the charges.

Although he did not identify Coseteng by name, Laurel held that the speech delivered by a "disgraced former lady senator and abetted by a disgraced former president now in jail" were the reasons why three separate investigations were conducted on the Expo Filipino controversy.

The Expo Filipino controversy was investigated by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, the Ombudsman and a panel headed by former Sen. Rene Saguisag on orders of Estrada.

He claimed that Coseteng instigated the investigations against him because she asked for something the NCC could not accommodate.

"The lady senator asked the NCC something beyond its capacity to give. Disappointed, she delivered an angry speech. She became even angrier when the Blue Ribbon found her own chief aide indictable for criminal extortion," Laurel claimed.

But the SC held that Laurel was a public officer when he was named chairman of the NCC and that he was accountable for any act he committed which may fall under Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The court held Laurel liable for alleged irregularities involving the Freedom Ring project, a portion of the P9.6-billion Expo Filipino which was built for the country’s centennial anniversary.

Graft probers Mary Ann Corpus-Mañalac, Emma Suarez and Ma. Lina Llagas-Vicente stated in their findings that Laurel awarded the Freedom Ring project to Asia Construction Development Corp. without the benefit of a public bidding.

They also found that the former NCC chairman "prematurely" issued a notice to proceed with the construction project in December 1996 when the contract itself was signed four months later, or in April 1997.–Jose Rodel Clapano