ANOTHER of the Arroyo cases has rolled in the Office of the Ombudsman, this time including Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, the husband of former President Gloria Arroyo, over an alleged chopper anomaly, but the office found no reason to investigate him for plunder.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales gave the go-signal for government investigators and prosecutors to conduct preliminary investigation of Mr. Arroyo, former Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Jesus Verzosa, former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Manila Aerospace Trading (Maptra) Corp. President Hilario de Vera.
Also to be investigated are Avelino Razon Jr., Miguel Coronel and Celia Sanidad-Leones, commissioners of the National Police Commission, Napolcom Director Conrado Sumanga Jr. and 28 other PNP officers.
On November 21, a special panel of investigators that conducted a fact-finding probe submitted to Morales a 98-page investigation report.
It said that it found enough evidence to charge Mr. Arroyo for violating Sections 3 “g” and “e” of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act but the plunder charge was dropped.
Of the 28 PNP officers, the panel charged 16 of them with falsification and 21 of them with gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
It is composed of Deputy Special Prosecutor John Turralba, Assistant Ombudsman Joselito Fangon, Ombudsman Director Marial Olivia Roxas and graft investigators Dennis Mendoza and John Sambajon.
During an interview, Assistant Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan said that Mr. Arroyo and others will not be investigated for plunder, which the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) originally wanted to be part of the complaints against those behind the helicopter purchase.
Rafanan added that the investigation report, which was not disclosed to the media, is a consolidated report on two related complaints of the CIDG and the Senate blue ribbon committee.
On September 2, the CIDG filed a plunder complaint against Mr. Arroyo and 16 others for the allegedly anomalous purchase of two Robinson R44 Raven 1 helicopters from Maptra in 2009.
On October 13, in a letter to Morales, the Senate blue ribbon committee appealed to the anti-graft office to investigate whether Mr. Arroyo and 18 others are culpable of graft related to the two helicopters, which the PNP purchased but were found to be second-hand and initially used by Mrs. Arroyo’s husband.
The choppers were supplied to Maptra by Lionair Inc., which was supposedly acting on Mr. Arroyo’s orders.
“Wala nang plunder [Plunder has been taken out]. The special panel of investigators considered both the CIDG and Senate complaints and evidence attached to [them], and it [the evidence] did not include plunder,” said Rafanan, who also spoke for the Ombudsman.
He added that with the imprimatur of Morales, the fact-finding panel will forward the report to a special panel of investigating prosecutors who will conduct the preliminary investigation.
The new panel of prosecutors was given 60 days to conduct the preliminary investigation and administrative adjudication and to submit its report and recommendation.
Morales will then sign and recommend the report for resolution.
“The special panel of prosecutors shall be the one to determine whether probable cause [exists against the respondents] and whether the respondents should be held [in] trial,” Rafanan said.
Watch list order
Rafanan held comments on a watch list order (WLO) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that recently excluded Mr. Arroyo from the list.
“It’s up to the parties and DOJ concerning the watch list order. [The Ombudsman] submits the discretion to the DOJ [regarding the watch list order] pending investigation,” he said.
With an investigation pending against Mr. Arroyo, Rafanan added that “it is up to the DOJ” if it will necessitate a watch list order against the husband of the embattled former president.
He said that regarding the cases of Mrs. Arroyo, the Ombudsman will inform the public through the media if there are already “final actions.”
When asked on what plunder cases are on the desk of Morales, Rafanan refused to answer.
Mrs. Arroyo is facing numerous cases before the Ombudsman, among them, the P325-million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office plunder case; the P550-million Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration case; and the P1.6-billion fertilizer fund scam case.
