Palace: Ombudsman acted independently on graft raps vs solons
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Is six months too fast to find probable cause and indict lawmakers for plunder? Malacañang on Wednesday said it cannot answer for the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Iginagalang namin ang pagiging independiyente ng Ombudsman,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a text message to media, implying that President Benigno Aquino III had no hand at the investigations.
(We respect the independence of the Ombudsman.)
The Ombudsman on Tuesday indicted Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada, businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and several others for plunder.
But media reports said Estrada, who faces 11 counts of graft, questioned the speed of the investigation.
Coloma, however, insisted that the investigation was based on evidence.
“Ebidensya, hindi personalidad, ang batayan ng resolusyong ito,” Coloma said.
(Evidence, and not personality, is the basis of the decision.)
Estrada earlier complained that they were being singled out by the administration while Aquino’s allies were spared.
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