MANILA, Philippines - He had yet to post bail of P60,000 as of yesterday, but Sen. Gregorio Honasan vowed to fight the charges against him as the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest for alleged misuse of P30 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel in 2012.
Eight others were ordered arrested with the senator, also for their alleged involvement in the PDAF scam.
In a minute resolution dated Aug. 7 and released to the media yesterday, the court’s Second Division said it found probable cause to hold Honasan on trial for two counts of graft.
After perusing the case information and evaluating the supporting evidence, the Aug. 9, 2016 joint resolution and April 12 joint order of the Office of the Ombudsman, the anti-graft court said it found “sufficient probable cause to hold the accused in this case for trial and issue a warrant of arrest against them.”
Also ordered arrested were Honasan’s political affairs and project coordinator Michael Benjamin as well as executives of the National Council on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) including Director 3 Galay Makalinggan, acting chief Aurora Aragon-Mabang, secretary Mehol Sadain, acting chief accountant Fedelina Aldanese and cashier Olga Galido.
The court also ordered the arrest of private respondents Giovanni Manuel Gaerlan and Salvador Gaerlan, former president and incumbent president, respectively, of the non-government organization (NGO) Focus on Development Goals Foundation Inc.
The Sandiganbayan Second Division’s Office of the Clerk of Court closed without the senator posting the required P60,000 bail bond, or P30,000 for each count, in exchange for his provisional liberty.
Sandiganbayan Security and Sheriff Services Office acting chief Albert de la Cruz said copies of the arrest warrants against Honasan and the other respondents had been transmitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
De la Cruz said it was up to the law enforcement agencies to implement the arrest order.
The Second Division’s records show that Mabang, Sadain, Aldanese and Galido have posted their respective bail bonds.
Filed by the ombudsman on Aug. 1, the graft cases stemmed from the alleged payment of P29.1 million of Honasan’s PDAF to Focus for the supposed implementation of his programs and projects for Muslim Filipinos in Metro Manila and Zambales.
The ombudsman said Honasan “unilaterally chose and endorsed” Focus to be the implementer of the projects without the benefit of public bidding as required under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The ombudsman said the respondents instead entered into a negotiated procurement with Focus absent “any appropriation law or ordinance” for such mode of procurement.
Based on the ombudsman’s record, a total of P30 million of Honasan’s PDAF was released by the Department of Budget and Management in April 2012 to NCMF as the implementing agency for the livelihood projects for Muslim Filipinos.
The ombudsman said the respondent NCMF officials processed the payment of a total of P29.1 million, given in two tranches, to Focus “with unusual accommodation and haste.”
“Focus, as endorsed by Honasan, unduly profited from the questionable transactions, to the damage and prejudice of the Republic of the Philippines,” the case information sheet read.
‘I’m innocent’
In a statement, Honasan said he is “completely innocent of the charges against me.”
“All my life I have fought everything I am accused of and I will continue to do so,” Honasan said.
Sen. Richard Gordon said he was at a loss as to how to react to the arrest of Honasan, who he said is an upright person.
He clarified that the issuance of the arrest warrant should not be treated as an indication of his guilt, but merely to state that there is probable cause to charge him of the crime he allegedly committed.
“The court just wants you to be there to answer. I’m sure he will answer the charges in court. I don’t think he will just blow or fly the coop, knowing him,” Gordon said.
“He’s an upright man, I think he will answer the charges in court,” he added.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said that it was unfortunate that Honasan, as a colleague, is now facing this predicament.
Trillanes said he is confident that Honasan would be able to defend himself in court.
Honasan was detained in 2006 following charges of rebellion in connection with an ouster move against then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2003.
But he was allowed to post bail and the charges against him were eventually dropped in 2007, when he ran and won as senator. – With Marvin Sy