Monico to face plunder rap

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Sports Commission is all set to file a plunder case against Rep. Monico Puentevella for his alleged failure to liquidate P50.5 million in government assistance for the staging of the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in Bacolod in 2005.

Puentevella, a PSC commissioner from 1994 to 2000 and now in his ninth year as congressman of Bacolod City, will receive a letter from the PSC today giving him five days to return the amount supposed to cover the expenses for Bacolod’s hosting of some SEA Games events.

“Under COA (Commission on Audit) rules, if you fail to liquidate then you must return the money. He’s been given almost four years to liquidate but he failed. Now he must return the money. Otherwise, we will file the case,” said PSC lawyer Sixto Brillantes.

“We’re sending him a final letter today for him to return the money. Or we will file the charges of plunder and criminal. This is not a small amount. This is government money. And it’s such a case because he’s a sitting congressman,” Brillantes added.

Once the case is filed, then Puentevella, also vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and head of the RP weightlifting association, becomes the first congressman and sports official ever to face plunder.

Bacolod was one of two satellite venues for the 2005 edition of the biennial games, the other one being Cebu, and Manila being the main hub. The government, through the PSC, its funding arm, released a total of P228,134,507 in assistance.

Bacolod, through Puentevella, got P50.5 million, Cebu, through Jonathan Guardo, got P10 million, and the rest of the amount went to the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Philsoc) that was chaired by Jose “Peping” Cojuangco.

Brillantes, who heads the PSC legal panel looking into the case, said Puentevella has yet to liquidate the amount, as well as Guardo. Philsoc has made partial liquidation and payment through sports equipment but is not yet totally off the hook.

A plunder case may be filed against any “public person” accused of malversation or misuse of funds amounting to P50 million and more.

Chairman Harry Angping of the PSC said he has nothing personal against Puentevella but failure to have the millions of people’s money liquidated will leave the government sports agency answerable to the COA headed by Mario Lipana.

“I have to do my job or the COA will run after me. It’s nothing personal, just work related,” said Angping, a former congressman from Manila who was appointed by President Arroyo as PSC chief last February.

Brilliantes wondered how Puentevella managed to draw the total amount which came in four checks ranging from P10 million to P20 million from July to November in 2005 from the PSC.

He said the Bacolod SEA Games Organizing Committee or BASOC headed by Puentevella was not registered as an NGO (non-government organization) and therefore was not supposed to draw such amount from the PSC.

The checks were issued by the PSC to the “Bacolod SEA Games Organizing Committee and/or Cong. Monico Puentevella” and the former PSC official deposited them straight to his private account and disbursed the money under his name.

“Public funds are not supposed to go directly to a private person. He has a problem here because evidence would show that the money went straight to his account. There’s some responsibility too on the releasing agency. Why was the money released in the first place?” Brillantes said.

He added that there were administrative errors in the issuance of the government checks to BASOC “but whether it constitutes conspiracy is another thing. If there is conspiracy then others may be involved.”

Brillantes said Puentevella had all the time to liquidate, and last Aug. 18 he received another letter from the PSC asking him to liquidate in the next seven days. The letter Puentevella would receive today is one asking him to return the money.

“And if he doesn’t then in five to seven days we will file the case. Whether it’s before the Ombudsman or a special prosecutor we’re still trying to establish.

It appears he has no intention of liquidating. He’s a congressman and he should know this,” the lawyer said.

Under the law, government funds, when used, must be liquidated within 60 days.

Puentevella sent liquidation reports to the COA but Brilliantes described them as “empty.”

“When it was reviewed by COA, it meant nothing. It did not liquidate anything. The COA was inclined to reject the liquidation and recommend that the money be returned. The COA even wrote the PSC asking the PSC to go after the money,” Brilliantes explained.

Brilliantes said Puentevella, instead of explaining before the PSC, wrote the COA explaining what happened during the SEA Games and “they even had to dig into their own pockets and that it was a successful staging.”