‘Whistle-blower’ faces libel raps

MANILA, Philippines - A former liaison officer of the defunct Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG), who claimed to be a whistle-blower when he filed charges against a Bureau of Customs (BOC) official, may face libel charges.

In a statement issued yesterday, lawyer JV Bautista said his client, BOC deputy commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, is considering suing Lamberto Lopez, who retracted on Friday extortion charges he filed before the Office of the Ombudsman on March 17 against another BOC deputy commissioner, Jesse Dellosa.

In a two-page affidavit of recantation that made no mention of Nepomuceno, Lopez said a certain Geni Agco made him file the complaint against Dellosa and intelligence officers Jarvis Cinches and Jovily Cabading upon the alleged instructions of a Jeff Patawaran.

Bautista said Lopez erred when he suddenly dropped the graft charges he earlier filed against Dellosa before the ombudsman.

In several interviews, Lopez claimed that he was just made to file the case by one of Nepomuceno’s staff members and also directly accused Nepomuceno of having a hand in a smear campaign against Dellosa.

Basing on Lopez’s actions, Bautista said Lopez obviously invented the charge against Nepomuceno, making him liable for libel.

Smugglers behind ‘war?’

Bautista expressed the belief that Lopez is part of a group of smugglers funding a “war” pitting the deputy commissioners against each other to weaken government efforts against smuggling.

Nepomuceno and Dellosa are both at the forefront of the bureau’s efforts to rid itself of scalawags and smugglers.

“I’ve known… Nepomuceno for a long time. He is a sterling officer and a gentleman. It is not part of his nature to malign a fellow military officer, much less, a former Armed Forces chief of staff. Fact is, Nepomuceno is part of a group of military men who want to reform our system. He cannot do what this Lopez is accusing him of,” Bautista said.