Retired SC justice to probe judge’s ‘link’ to Napoles

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has tapped retired associate justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez to handle the administrative case against Sandiganbayan Senior Justice Gregory Ong on allegations linking him to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains in the multibillion-peso congressional pork barrel scam.

“Justice Sandoval-Gutierrez has accepted the court’s invitation to act as its investigator,” SC spokesman Theodore Te said.

The SC approved the docketing of an administrative case against Ong on Tuesday following an inquiry it initiated in October on the sworn statements of whistle-blowers Benhur Luy and Marina Sula during the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Sept. 26.

It was learned that Ong had complied with the order for him to explain why Sula and Luy identified him as the contact of Napoles.

Sula and Luy had identified Ong as among those who visited Napoles’ office at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas and joined her parties.

The SC probe also covers the four lawyers who allegedly notarized the documents of Napoles’ JLN Corp. for its projects funded by the Malampaya Fund.

The lawyers also reportedly left a dry seal in Napoles’ office, as well as specimen signatures, notary books and stamp pads for use by JLN employees

They were identified as Mark Oliveros, Editha Talaboc, Raymond Tansip and Joshua Lapuz.

Ong was a member of the Sandiganbayan’s fourth division that had cleared Napoles in the Kevlar helmet case, involving the alleged ghost purchase of 500 helmets using government funds in 1998.

Ong voluntarily submitted himself to investigation of the high court in a letter to Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno on Sept. 26.

He said a photo of him partying with Napoles and Senator Jinggoy Estrada published by an online news website in August could not have been taken in 2010 or earlier, adding that he and Estrada are friends since 1994.

“Be that as it may, it is undisputed, however, that I was standing to the right of Senator Estrada to have my picture taken with him. I have no control whether other guests (in this case, Mrs. Napoles, who was standing to his left) would also want to be photographed with us,” he said in his letter.

Ong also denied favoring Napoles, saying the members of a court division that acted as a collegial body dismissed the Kevlar helmet case.