Miriam gets euro general

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court has ruled that the Senate committee on foreign relations, chaired by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, has jurisdiction over the investigation of retired police comptroller Eliseo de la Paz who was held at a Moscow airport last October for carrying undeclared cash amounting to 105,000 euros or P6.93 million.

In a unanimous decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Eduardo Nachura, the SC upheld the validity of the arrest order issued by Santiago’s committee in October last year against De la Paz.

The Court said in its decision promulgated on Feb. 13 that it considered valid the Senate rules that led to the arrest order against De la Paz following his initial non-appearance at the chamber’s inquiry.

The decision was issued based on a petition filed by De la Paz and his wife Marie Fe in late October last year.

The police officer and his wife failed to attend the first hearing on the controversy on Oct. 23, 2008.

De la Paz and his wife were held at a Moscow airport on Oct. 11, 2008 for carrying the undeclared euros, after they attended the 77th International Police (Interpol) General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The other police officials in the PNP delegation to the Interpol meeting were Deputy Directors General Emmanuel Carta, Ismael Rafanan, Directors Romeo Ricardo, Silverio Alarcio, German Doria and Jaime Caringal, Superintendent Elmer Pelobello, the aide of delegation.

De la Paz sought relief from the SC and questioned the jurisdiction of the Senate committee on foreign relations with regard to the investigation on the so-called “euro generals,” the Senate rules and the arrest order against them.

“Even if it is within our power to inquire into the validity of the exercise of jurisdiction over the petitioners by the Senate foreign relations committee, we are convinced that respondent committee has acted within the proper sphere of its authority,” the Court said.

The court thus dismissed the petition for lack of merit and also for being moot as De la Paz had eventually attended the Senate inquiry while his wife was allowed by the committee to be spared from the investigation.

De la Paz was held only for several hours and released after producing the proper documentation for the money, indicating it was the PNP delegation’s contingency fund. – Edu Punay