Ombudsman: No selective justice in ‘pork’ probe

MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has admitted that her office could not file the remaining pork barrel scam-related cases involving some allies of the previous administration before her term ends in July.

Morales assured the public that there was no selective justice in the investigation of the multibillion-peso pork barrel fund anomaly.

“I said I intended to finish it before or on or about the expiration of my term. Unfortunately, given the volume of cases that the office is handling, I am afraid we may not be able to finish all PDAF cases. There are several of them,” Morales said yesterday, referring to the Priority Development Assistance Fund.

She said that as of the end of 2017, there were about 6,000 cases pending before the ombudsman, making it hard to meet her self-imposed target to resolve the pork cases.

Morales earlier told journalists that she intended to file with the Sandiganbayan the third batch of pork misuse cases by end of 2017 or at the latest, before her term ends on July 26.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed with the ombudsman the third batch of pork cases in August 2015.

Among those named respondents in the NBI’s third complaint were Sens. Gregorio Honasan and Joel Villanueva, Abono party-list Rep. Conrado Estrella III (P45.03 million) and former congressmen Robert Raymund Estrella of Abono, Manuel Ortega of La Union, Victor Francisco Ortega of La Union, Amado Bagatsing of Manila, Isidro Real Jr. of Zamboanga del Sur and Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City.

Morales said she did not consider the political leanings of the respondents in deciding which cases to prioritize.

Earlier, she admitted that her office prioritized the filing of plunder and graft cases against then opposition senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada because of the amount of public funds involved and the availability of evidence.

Aside from Enrile, Estrada and Revilla, the ombudsman also filed with the Sandiganbayan plunder charges against former representatives Rizalina Seachon-Lanete of Masbate and Edgar Valdez of APEC party-list. Also charged were former congressmen Rodolfo Plaza of Agusan del Sur, Samuel Dangwa of Benguet and Constantino Jaraula of Cagayan de Oro City, who were all included in the first batch of complaint filed by the NBI at the ombudsman in September 2013. 

Filed in 2016, the second batch of PDAF cases included those against former Customs commissioner and incumbent Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, former Energy Regulatory Commission chair Zenaida Ducut and four other former congressmen: Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro, Arrel Olaño of Davao del Norte, Marc Douglas Cagas IV of Davao del Sur and Arthur Pingoy Jr. of South Cotabato.

‘Napoles cannot be a state witness’

Morales lauded Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra for lifting the provisional inclusion of alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in the government’s witness protection program (WPP) last month.

“He’s fair. He has no integrity issue. And I believe that he did correctly by lifting or at least recognizing the termination of the provisional placing of Janet in the WPP,” she said.

In March this year, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II announced that Napoles was provisionally admitted to the WPP to shed light on the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

Aguirre said the affidavit of Napoles was still undergoing assessment by his office for the possibility of turning her into a state witness in the PDAF anomaly.

Morales said Aguirre’s placing of Napoles in the WPP, although provisional, was unfounded as the “pork scam queen” was among the respondents in the pork-related cases pending at the Sandiganbayan.

“So, what was he talking about? The cases filed in court was not his concern. It was the concern of the ombudsman. He was out of tune when he was saying that he was considering Napoles to be a state witness,” Morales said.

“Whatever investigation they had, they have to refer it to us and the final say on who will be indicted and who will be freed will be from the ombudsman,” she added.

No politics

Morales has categorically said that she has no plans of entering politics after her retirement.

She said there is a provision in the Constitution prohibiting an ombudsman from immediately running for a public position immediately after his or her retirement.

“Politics is not for me,” Morales said when asked if she is considering running for public office several years after her retirement.

She said she would continue supporting the Duterte administration’s fight against corruption, although she and the President previously had a spat.

Despite a seemingly hostile relationship with Duterte, Morales said she wishes the President well, especially in his remaining years in office.

Asked if she believes Duterte can bring “better times” for the Filipinos, Morales said: “He’s only on his second year, he has six years. So, belief is one thing, perception is another and actuality is still another.”

Morales’ nephew Manases Carpio is the husband of presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.