Plunder charges filed vs Palace lawyer, PEA officials

Former Public Estates Authority (PEA) board member Sulficio Tagud, who blew the whistle on the P600 million overpricing of the President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard (PDMB), and 16 other militant groups led by Plunderwatch filed plunder charges yesterday against a powerful law firm close to President Arroyo.

Also included in the complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman were past and present PEA officials and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The respondents in the 20-page plunder complaint were: acting Executive Secretary and Carpio law officer partner Avelino Cruz; former PEA chairman Frisco San Juan; former board members Carmelita de Leon, Daniel Dayara, Elpidio Damaso, Salvador Malvarasa and Leo Padilla; former PEA general manager Carlos Doble; Jose Capistrano of the PEA technical services audit division A; PEA state auditor IV Epifanio Pureza; Jose Morales Jr. of the PEA project management office B; and Ernesto Enriquez, a member of the PEA ad hoc committee.

The GSIS officials also named as respondents in the complaint were GSIS president Winston Garcia and GSIS trustees Reynaldo Palmiery, Elmer Bautista, former Environment Secretary Fulgencio Factoran, Florino Ibañez, Aida Nocete and Leovigildo Arellano.

Lawyer Rachelle Pastores, legal counsel of Tagud’s co-complainants Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and the Council on Philippine Affairs (COPA), and other groups that were part of the EDSA II movement, said the plunder complaint filed against Cruz and his co-respondents was supplemental to their original plunder complaint they filed before the Ombudsman last Oct. 3.

"Based on our evaluation of the evidence that we got, there was a clear manipulation and scheme made by the old PEA board and the management to enable Jesusito D. Legaspi Construction (JDLC) "to obtain the contract for the construction of the PDMB," Pastores said.

Pastores said the PEA and GSIS officials, including Cruz, connived with each other for the immediate approval and release of a P1 billion loan from the GSIS that was used to fund the PDMB project.

"No one would have earned an illegal profit if the P1 billion loan made by the government to GSIS had not been approved and released, she added.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel (OCPLC) said in a statement that the loan in question was an agreement between the GSIS and PEA and is "separate and distinct" from the construction contracts entered into by PEA for the construction of the PDMB.

"It was only the authority of the PEA to contract the loan with GSIS, as required under Section 12 of the PEA charter, that was acted upon by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Finance (DOF), and the Office of the President, and not any of the construction contracts entered into by the PEA," OCPLC Undersecretary Rodel Cruz said in a statement.

According to the OCPLC, the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel "had no authority and did not approve the loan agreement."

According to the OCPLC statement, "as separate and distinct transactions, the loan agreement on one hand and the construction contracts on the other, underwent separate and distinct processes for review and approval."

Pastores said they included Cruz in the charge sheet because he did not exercise due diligence in approving the P1-billion loan. "Cruz was the one who signed the loan application of the PEA to fund the project. There is strong evidence on the whole conspiracy of the respondents on how they rigged the deal."

Pastores said Cruz signed the P1 billion loan to PEA upon the recommendation of the NEDA.

Tagud also lambasted the Arroyo administration for naming him among those guilty of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. "It was not for me, no case would have been filed. I did all I can as a director of PEA to prevent corruption, but now I am found guilty. There is no logic, there is no justice," he said in a statement sent to The STAR yesterday.

Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, by the President’s authority, signed Administrative Order No. 53 affirming the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) verdict. AO No. 53 recommended that the seven PEA board officials be dismissed and barred from public service.

The PEA board members covered by AO No. 53 are Tagud, board chairman Ernest Villareal, general manager and ex-officio member Benjamin Cariño and board members Rodolfo Tuazon, Martin Sanciego Jr., Joemarie Gerochi and Angelito Villanueva.

Tuazon earlier filed plunder charges against Tagud and a PEA assistant general manager, adding that Tagud was one of the board directors who approved the price adjustment and variation orders in JDLC’s contract with PEA.

"I will continue to pursue the case and put the guilty parties behind bars," Tagud said, "even if Malacañang gives discouraging signals."

No judicial authority

Tagud’s lawyer, Leonard de Vera, said Mrs. Arroyo does not have judicial authority to disqualify any individual from taking a government post.

"We will appeal to the Supreme Court. (The President) does not have the power to deprive any citizen from holding public office. It is only the courts that could do that. We will challenge her decision," he said.

De Vera said "the courts impose this penalty only after a full-blown trial at the PAGC. The investigation was based on documents. There was never a confrontation of witnesses."

However, Tagud, De Vera, who is also the spokesman for the Equal Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), and Concerned Lawyers for Moral and Effective Leadership (Clamor) spokesman Dennis Funa expressed their reservation over the inclusion of Cruz in the plunder complaint.

De Vera said there is nothing the loan agreement Cruz signed and approved that is anomalous. "It could not raise eyebrows. We are suing everybody named (in the charge sheet). But with respect to Cruz, we don’t include him for lack of legal basis. So far, the EJMP and Clamor are not including Cruz."

Funa said Cruz’s participation in the loan agreement was merely procedural.

Pastores said Cruz’s inclusion in the plunder complaint was a decision made by a majority of the groups, which voted before they filed the complaint. "The decision of the majority is that there is sufficient evidence to implead Cruz along with the other new respondents. We impleaded Cruz after a unanimous decision." – With Sammy Santos