New Senate probe on Impsa deal sought

Two senators pushed yesterday for the reopening of a Senate inquiry into the alleged $14-million payoff to some government officials to allow an Argentine firm to get a $470-million contract to repair and operate the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric plant in Laguna.

Sen. Franklin Drilon said he is supporting the move of Sen. Panfilo Lacson to again look into the supposed bribery of some government officials by Argentine firm Industrias Metallurgicas Perscarmona, SA (IMPSA).

"There is nothing in the rules that prohibits Senator Lacson from filing a new resolution, and I would encourage Senator Lacson to do so that a fresh inquiry can be made into this," he said in an interview.

Drilon said the Senate could squeeze into its schedule the IMPSA deal inquiry once Congress resumes session on Jan. 22.

"We can continue the investigation even during the break," he said. "So that’s a matter that is addressed to the discretion of the appropriate committee."

Lacson said he wanted to revive a congressional resolution seeking an investigation into the alleged $14-million payoff made by IMPSA to some government officials.

"For raising more questions than answers and with his attempt to twist the facts and his unprovoked attempt at character assassination to protect himself from a $14-million bribery mess, Mark Jimenez, in his newfound glorious state of mind, should be given a chance to shed light, and at the same time, be held accountable for this issue," he said.

In a statement, Lacson said the resolution intends to look into the circumstances, personalities and the real amount of bribe money involved.

"As much as I don’t want to dignify the twisted facts Mr. Jimenez is preaching, my principles dictate that I correct the lies he is peddling and expose the truth on this matter," he said.

The resolution, which Lacson filed on Nov. 18, 2002, stated that the decision to approve the IMPSA contract appeared to be an offshoot of a favorable legal opinion by then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, who is now facing extortion and graft charges.

Lacson said he is standing by his earlier statement that the Jimenez-Perez fiasco was a case of bribery, and that the amount involved is $14 million, not just $2 million as Jimenez insisted.

"There is a need to unmask the identity of these government officials who facilitated the approval of a contract disadvantageous to the government for some consideration, monetary or otherwise, for them to be prosecuted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices law and for plunder," he said.

Lacson said it was Jimenez himself who provided him information regarding the IMPSA payoff, and that he was concerned with Jimenez’s recent pronouncements clearing President Arroyo of involvement in the case.

"(Jimenez) was also the one who invited me to visit him in Miami, Florida, after watching my Pidal exposé and offered to give me the original copy of the checks," he said.

"But when we went there, he gave me and Attorney Sigfrid Fortun the run-around for two nights and never gave me the copies of the checks he promised.

"The reason behind this sudden turnaround is known only to them, Mr. Jimenez and Mrs. Arroyo. I can only say that they truly deserve each other because they share so many similarities."

Drilon said plunder charges rather than extortion should have been filed against Perez.

"Ultimately, it will have to be clarified in the courts when the evidence is presented," he said.

"To me it should have been plunder because it is beyond P50-million. Obviously, there were a series of acts that were undertaken in order to effect this on the basis of the affidavit presented, including the incidents before that."

Drilon said it should make no difference that the one being charged is a former justice chief because everyone is equal before the law.

"If it is an extortion, he has no liability," he said.

"The same (in) plunder. Insofar as he is concerned, he was coerced into doing it. (If it’s bribery) I do not know. The Ombudsman has taken a position that there was coercion, that is why she filed extortion."

Erap allegations

Meanwhile, two allies of President Arroyo in the House of Representatives want ousted President Joseph Estrada to explain his allegations that a $14-million payoff was part of a $470-million contract awarded by the administration to an Argentine to repair and operate a power plant in Laguna.

In a statement, Representatives Antonio Cuenco of Cebu City and Edwin Uy of Isabela tried to insulate President Arroyo from the issue of bribery involving IMPSA, which repaired and operated the Caliraya-Botocan power plant.

"It is Erap who has a lot of explaining to do," the two lawmakers said.

The two pro-administration lawmakers said they found it "highly irregular" for Estrada to make a side trip to the IMPSA offices during an official visit to Argentina at the start of his administration.

"Estrada should tell all the facts about the controversy, especially after admitting for the first time that the alleged $14-million bribe was first offered to him by IMPSA through Jimenez," he said.

"Why is he telling this only now? He is in no position to clear his own self. The $2-million extortion is clearly just between Mr. Jimenez and former justice secretary Perez."

In an interview with The STAR on Wednesday, Estrada claimed that the $2 million that former secretary Perez allegedly extorted from former Manila representative Mark Jimenez was part of the $14 million.

The rest of the money allegedly went to "other administration officials," he added.

Estrada said he rejected the huge bribe after refusing IMPSA’s request that the government guarantee its loans.

Negotiations for the power plant actually started during the Ramos administration, continued on under his watch and were completed less than two weeks after President Arroyo took over from him in the latter part of January 2001, he added.

Estrada said it was an act of Perez that sealed the deal and gave IMPSA a loan guarantee.

If IMPSA defaults on its loans, the Filipino taxpayers would pay for its obligations under the sovereign guarantee that the Arroyo administration had given the Argentine firm, he added.

Perez allegations

Meanwhile, Anakpawis party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran said yesterday the $2-million extortion case filed by Jimenez against Perez could determine whether Malacañang had benefited from the alleged payoff.

"It is up to the Sandiganbayan to say if Malacañang didn’t benefit from Perez’s extortion," he said. "The Sandiganbayan should stand firm and conduct honest and thorough deliberations on this case."

Beltran said the anti-graft court should be insulated from external pressures, especially from Malacañang, which might attempt to sway any court decision.

"It is most commendable that Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez has taken on this case, and Malacañang should be warned against imposing any pressure on the Sandiganbayan or influencing its decision on how to investigate the details of the case," he said.

Beltran said Mrs. Arroyo and her advisers were "caught unaware" by the announcement of the Office of the Ombudsman that graft, extortion and falsification charges would be filed against Perez.

"This case has clearly thrown Malacañang for a loop, and wouldn’t be surprising if it is now making secret moves to undermine the upcoming investigations and save itself from any possible culpability," he said.

"It is suspicious that Malacañang should sound so careful in its statements on the issue instead of issuing a flat denial that it has nothing to do whenever confronted with controversies of a similar type."

Erap testimony

In January 2003, Estrada testified before the Senate that Jimenez, apparently acting on behalf of IMPSA, strongly lobbied for his approval to grant a sovereign guarantee to the $47-million power plant contract. A sovereign guarantee would ensure government support for IMPSA project loans in case the firm defaults on loan payments.

The Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises, then chaired by Sen. John Osmeña conducted the inquiry into the IMPSA deal.

Under the $470 million power deal IMPSA won the right to repair and operate the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric plants in Laguna.

Estrada said when Jimenez followed up the signing of all documents required by the project’s lenders, the lawmaker told him that $14 million had been set aside to bankroll the projects of the Office of the President, and that he rejected the payoff.

"Basta walang sovereign guarantee ang kontrata. (The contract had no sovereign guarantee)," he said. "I was not interested in receiving anything from anybody. My only interest in IMPSA was to negotiate that a direct sovereign guarantee provision be avoided."

Asked by the late Sen. Robert Barbers if he considered Jimenez’s offer at the time as a bribe, Estrada did not give a categorical answer.

"The offer might have many interpretations," he said.

"The offer was not a direct one. Kung sinasabi niya (Jimenez) na mayroon para sa iyo, (If Jimenez said there’s something for me), I would have immediately ordered his arrest by the Presidential Guards.

"I did not consider it a bribe because the offer was intended for the projects of the Office of the President."

However, Estrada said he was considering the $14 million offer as a bribe following the investigation on IMPSA and the exposé of Sen. Panfilo Lacson on the alleged $2-million bribe involving Perez, who signed a Department of Justice opinion effectively granting a sovereign guarantee to the IMPSA contract.

The Senate conducted the investigation after Lacson accused Perez of receiving a $2-million bribe to endorse the contract to Mrs. Arroyo, who signed the IMPSA deal on Jan. 24, 2001, days after she took over the government on Jan. 20. –With Jess Diaz, Delon Porcalla