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The Palace will hold Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen.
Jesus Verzosa liable if the Office of the Ombudsman and the
Department of Justice (DOJ) will uncover enough evidence to show
Versoza violated a law in connection with the Moscow scandal.
“It would depend on the investigation of the
Ombudsman and the DOJ. We can’t be judgmental here and there must
be an investigation and it must go through the due process,”
Presidential deputy spokesperson Anthony Golez said over the
weekend.
In case there is a cover up on the Moscow
scandal by Philippine National Police officials, Golez said the
investigations on the matter will uncover the truth.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
conducted an investigation on the Moscow scandal on Thursday and
recommended later the criminal prosecution of police officials
involved in the Moscow scandal and retired national police
comptroller Eliseo de la Paz.
De la Paz and his wife were apprehended at the
Moscow airport over the 105,000 euros or P6.9 million he was carried
which he did declare.
A draft report signed by committee head Sen.
Miriam Defensor-Santiago said the eight-man delegation of the
National police to the 77th International Police Conference in Saint
Petersburg are guilty of “graft, malversation of public funds, and
violation of the anti-money laundering law and banking rules.”
The Senate report also recommended the
preliminary investigation of Verzosa and Local Government Secretary
Ronaldo Puno for “violation of government travel restrictions.”
The police generals who attended the Interpol
conference were: Deputy Director Gen. Emmanuel Carta, the deputy
chief for administration; Director German Doria, the chief for human
resource and doctrine development; Deputy Director Gen. Ismael
Rafanan, chief of directorial staff; Director Silverio Alarcio,
director for operations; Supt. Elmer Pelobello, deputy chief for
operations; and Director Romeo Ricardo, director for plans. Some of
them had their wives in tow along with the spouse of Verzosa .
Ombudsman starts probe
THE Office of the Ombudsman will start
scrutinizing Monday the initial batch of documents that it has
received on the Moscow scandal.
In a radio interview, Assistant Ombudsman Mark
Jalandoni, chairman of the investigating panel looking into the
matter, said they already received the documents from the different
agencies of government that they earlier subpoenaed.
Among the agencies are the national Police,
Department of Interior and Local Governments, Commission on Audit,
Department of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration and Customs
bureaus.
“We’re beginning to piece up the puzzle. One
big part of the puzzle is the explanation of the National police,”
Jalandoni said in Filipino.
Jalandoni urged the public to give vital
information on the national police generals who went to Russia with
de la Paz to attend an International Police Conference.
Jalandoni said people who fear for their safety
can disclose anonymously what they know about the police generals
who went Moscow, through telephone, e-mail or letter.
The Ombudsman is now focused on conducting a
lifestyle check against the national police officials who went to
Russia.
On October 16, the Ombudsman gave 45-day
deadline to its investigators to finish the fact-finding probe on
the matter.
Jalandoni said that they would also evaluate
based on evidence whether the officials may have violated Republic
Act 3019 or the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act; RA 9160 or the
Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001; and Commission on Audit (COA)
Rules and Regulations.
Police probe
The national Police is expected Monday to
release its report on the Moscow scandal.
“By Monday we expect to finish the report,”
national Police spokesperson Chief Supt. Nicanor Bartolome said.
Bartolome expressed confidence the national
police could rebuild its image that was tainted by the Moscow
scandal.
The report will explain whether the P6.9 million
came from the contingecy fund of the national police or was a cash
advance from its intelligence fund.
Bartolome earlier said the money was supposed to
be a contingency fund for the police officials who attended the
Interpol conference. But he said later the money was a cash advance.
However, during the Senate inquiry on Thursday,
Verzosa flatly admitted he had no knowledge about the P6.9 million
being requested as a cash advance.
But barely a day after the congressional
inquiry, Verzosa sent a letter to Sen. Mar Roxas 2nd, saying the
P6.9 million was meant to acquire equipment for police intelligence
operations.
Verzosa has requested for an executive session
in the next Senate hearing on the matter, but this was rejected by
senators.
Dante Jimenez, the president of the Volunteers
Against Crime and Corruption, called on Verzosa to preventively
suspend the police officials tagged in the Moscow scandal.
During the Balitaan sa Tinapayan news forum in
Dapitan, Manila, Jimenez said the suspension should boost the morale
of the police, especially the rank-and-file cops.
“These officials should be suspended until
such time that they are proven innocent,” he added.
-- Angelo S. Samonte And Jomar Canlas With Ruben D. Manahan 4th
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