Slow progress over rice hoarding cases sparks Arroyo temper
By John Alliage Morales
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:27:00 05/08/2008
Filed Under: Crime, rice problem
MANILA, Philippines -- Once again, the slow paper work in the preparation of cases against government officials allegedly involved in rice hoarding was enough to ignite President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's infamous temper.
Visiting the Department of Justice (DoJ) for the second time this week, Arroyo was first seen exchanging smiles with some rice traders who were charged for hoarding during Thursday's preliminary investigation.
But her mood changed when she found out that the National Food Authority (NFA) employees allegedly in collusion with the rice traders would be facing only administrative charges.
She took to task the members of the anti-hoarding task force on why the NFA employees were not charged with "proper" cases.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said that his office just received on Thursday the endorsement of the Department of Agriculture. Employees who were charged with grave misconduct were Helen Osin, Jose dela Cruz, and Carmelito Bacus.
Arroyo, however, was exasperated after learning that the endorsement was not a criminal complaint and began firing a barrage of questions to DoJ Prosecutor Roberto Lao who held the documents.
"I thought you work on [the filing of criminal cases]. Where can you work on it? Do you have a working area where you can work on it?" she said.
"That's why we created a task force para hindi magturuan [to stop finger-pointing]," Arroyo told Director Nestor Mantaring of National Bureau of Investigation and Jessup Navarro of the NFA, who heads the task force.
"Kaya nga may NBI-NFA task force [That is why there is an NBI-NFA task force]. Why did the task force put it in the proper form?" she said to Mantaring and Navarro.
"Baka nasa records? [Maybe it is in the records section?]," said Gonzalez as Arroyo grew increasingly impatient.
"Maybe we should go to his office and look for it. Help him look for it. Saan ba office niya? [Where is his office?]," Arroyo said as she asked Gonzales and DoJ Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño to go to Lao's office.
Arroyo even asked reporters to leave so that the task force could start the turnover.
Minutes later, Arroyo was pacified as the endorsement of the justice department was turned over by Lao to NBI officials to prepare for the possible filing of criminal charges.
"The NBI will evaluate if offense merits a criminal care or only an administrative," Gonzalez said.
"I bear hard on them [but] they're doing a good job," Arroyo said.
She added that Lao was a good prosecutor. And as Lao re-entered the room with the documents, she said, "I just praised you Prosecutor Lao."
Arroyo said she went to the DoJ to observe "to make certain things go fast."
Three weeks ago, Arroyo also returned to the Bureau of Customs office in Manila's Port Area to check on the progress of her instructions to officials handling the P30-million wheat flour shipment from China that was seized for not meeting the standards of the Consumer Act.
On the President’s return, the customs official who attended to her got so rattled, he addressed her as "your honor" before catching himself and quickly correcting, "Madame President."
John Alliage Morales, Contributor
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