Ombudsman takes over Landbank case

The Ombudsman is taking over the money laundering case which the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed against Land Bank of the Philippines cashier Acsa Ramirez.

Acting Ombudsman Margarito Gervacio said he wrote Justice Secretary Hernando Perez last Aug. 22 to say the anti-graft agency will start investigating the case.

"In view of the earlier anti-money laundering case filed with the Office of the Ombudsman by the Anti-Money Laundering Council against LandBank Binangonan branch manager Artemio San Juan, which is now the subject of the anti-graft agency’s preliminary investigation under OMB docket number C-C-02-0488-H, it is desirable that the Ramirez case be consolidated with that of San Juan because of their related nature," he said.

Gervacio said he urged Perez to transmit to the Ombudsman all records in the Ramirez case which are in the possession of prosecutors of the Department of Justice.

"(With the Ombudsman taking over) the Ramirez case, which is justified under existing law and jurisprudence, suspicion of partiality on the part of the NBI may affect the DOJ under which supervision the former falls," he said.

NBI investigation showed that Ramirez and her predecessor, Ramon Joven, failed to report to the Anti-Money Laundering Council deposits amounting to P205 million which were made to the LandBank Binangonan branch between 1999 and 2002.

The NBI also charged Joven with six counts of money laundering.

It was later found out that the P205 million was stolen from tax money deposited to the LandBank which was authorized to receive tax payments for the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Wycoco said Joven approved six deposits of over P4 million to three fictitious bank accounts from 1999 to last April, while Ramirez received 11 deposits from May to June this year.

Earlier, Ramirez cried foul after Wycoco and President Arroyo presented her to media as a suspect in the theft of P205 million in taxes paid through the LandBank.

Ramirez said it was she who informed the NBI about the multi-million peso tax fraud that led to the arrest and filing of charges against San Juan.–Jose Rodel Clapano