GMA, 3 others face new charges

Former President, incumbent-Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is facing another criminal case, as government prosecutors Wednesday recommended the filing of technical malversation charges against her and three of her former Cabinet members in connection with the alleged misuse of almost P550 million in welfare funds for migrant workers.

In a 13-page resolution which will be transmitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice (DoJ) panel led by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, found sufficient evidence to hold Mrs. Arroyo, former Executive Secretary and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Virgilio Angelo, and Former Health Secretary and now Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Francisco Duque III accountable for the alleged illegal transfer of OWWA Medicare funds to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

The DoJ panel also recommended that Duque III, being the incumbent CSC chairman, be “referred to the Ombudsman for review and for possible initiation of impeachment proceedings.”

“In this case, the documentary evidence submitted shows that respondents GMA, Romulo, Angelo and Duque III, knowingly acted in complicity with each other in proposing, requesting, approving, implementing, and releasing OWWA funds for purposes other than for which they were intended,” the resolution said.

The panel, however, failed to pin the four accused to the other charges, including plunder and graft and corruption, lodged against them by former Solicitor General Frank Chavez.

“The finding is technical malversation only. There were no elements of plunder. But the findings are still subject to review by the Office of the Ombudsman,” Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said in a text message.

They also dismissed the case that Chavez filed against OWWA board of trustees who include Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz and former labor secretary Patricia Santo Tomas as well as former labor undersecretary Manuel Imson, Mina Figueroa, Caroline Rogge, Victorino Balais, Gregorio Oca, and Virgina Pasalo.

“We forwarded it [the resolution] to the Office of the Ombudsman,” he added.

Malacañang is optimistic about the conviction of the former Chief Executive in the latest case filed against her. “We support the decision of the Department of Justice in filing the case on the use of the OWWA funds,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“We will rely on the assessment of the Department of Justice, the prosecutors who are reviewing the case. It will not do us any good if we file a case which will not merit us a conviction. We would rather have a case that would secure us a conviction based on the evidence and review of the DOJ,” he said.

Last April, Chavez accused Mrs. Arroyo of allegedly conspiring with her former Cabinet members in diverting OWWA fund to finance acquisitions by several Philippine diplomatic posts in the Middle East, the humanitarian assistance to Iraq, and the re-election bid of respondent GMA.

Chavez, citing a memorandum order dated March 12, 2003, said that Romulo, who was then executive secretary of Arroyo, allegedly sought the release of $293,000 or roughly P16 million to finance alleged preparatory activities of the Philippine post in Kuwait and the “purchase of vehicles” and “stockpiling” of the posts in Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, and Iran in support of the US-led war in Iraq.

The former solicitor general claimed that the evidence of Mrs. Arroyo's approval of the fund transfer is an "OK charge to OWWA" marginal note in the March, 2003 letter of executive secretary Alberto Romulo, and Mrs. Arroyo's approval of the fund transfer was then relayed by Romulo.

Meanwhile, former Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza said the NBN-ZTE contract was not overpriced and disadvantageous to the government.

In his motion for reconsideration, which was, however, mooted after the Sandiganbayan sent his case back to the Ombudsman for a full preliminary investigation.

Mendoza was charged with graft along with the former President, former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. in relation to the botched $329 million broadband contract with China’s ZTE Corp. (with reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling and Shianee Mamanglu)

By LEONARD D. POSTRADO
mb.com.ph

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