Ombudsman seeks to recover P55M ill-gotten wealth of late Ampatuan Sr.

MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has ordered the filing of a civil forfeiture case against the late Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his wife Bai Laila Uy Ampatuan in order to recover P54.965-million worth of alleged ill-gotten wealth.

In a resolution approved by Morales on Dec. 23, 2016, released to the media Thursday, the Office of the Ombudsman said Ampatuan failed to declare several real estate properties, vehicles and firearms in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for years 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The ombudsman further said that even the declared assets of Ampatuan for those years were also “manifestly out of proportion to respondent’s salary as former Governor of Maguindanao and to their other lawful income and income from legitimately acquired properties.”

Based on the ombudsman's records, Ampatuan's “declared and undeclared” assets for years 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 amounted to P61.151 million composed of P48.911 million for real properties, P10.517 for vehicles and P1.722 million for firearms.

The ombudsman said that for those years, Ampatuan only had a total income of P6.235 million, thus there was a total of P54.965-million worth of assets whose sources remain unexplained.

“There is clear and convincing evidence that Ampatuan accumulated wealth manifestly disproportionate to his lawful and legitimate income for 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007, and he and his family failed to lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income due to their extravagant and ostentatious display of wealth,” the ombudsman's resolution read.

The ombudsman pointed out that under Section 2 of Republic Act 1379, “whenever any public officer or employee has acquired during his incumbency an amount of property which is manifestly out of proportion to his salary as such public officer and to his other lawful income and the income from legitimately acquired property, said property shall be presumed prima facie to have been unlawfully acquired.”

The ombudsman dismissed Ampatuan's assertion that most of his real estate properties were inherited from his deceased father, and that most of his firearms were just given to him by his friends and relatives.

“Ampatuan's claim that he inherited several pieces of land, business and properties from his deceased father, which he used to build his own businesses and farms, deserves no consideration because he failed to adduce evidence that will show and identify such properties allegedly inherited from his father,” the resolution read.

“Moreover it is implausible that all of his firearms, except for one, were given to him by his friends, relatives and political allies through the years by lucrative title and without monetary considerations,” it added.

The ombudsman further said that despite Ampatuan's claim that he and his wife observe a separate property regime, “there is no sufficient proof that his wife had the financial capacity to acquire the alleged properties registered under her name”.

Meanwhile, the ombudsman dismissed the criminal charges of perjury, falsification of public documents, graft and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees against Ampatuan in light of his death on July 17, 2015.

The ombudsman, on the other hand, maintained that the former governor's death “does not precluded the government from recovering his unexplained wealth” through a civil forfeiture case.

Ampatuan was the primary suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre which left 58 people dead including 34 journalists.