MANILA, Philippines—Eliseo de la Paz on Saturday declared he was the only one to blame for the Moscow fund mess and that he was willing to go to prison for his mistake.
But senators were not convinced, and repeatedly said he was being made a “scapegoat” to shield other police officials from the fallout of the scandal.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the chair of the foreign affairs committee that is looking into the fund mess along with the blue ribbon committee, said she felt “sorry” for De la Paz, who she described as caught “between the devil and a hard rock.”
According to Santiago, the retired comptroller of the Philippine National Police has willingly taken on the role of “scapegoat” for an issue that could bag him a 20-year prison term. She said his admission was part of a cover-up of a larger controversy involving PNP funds.
Senators are looking into the possibility that the 105,000 euros that De la Paz and his wife were caught carrying in Russia early last month had come from illegal sources and might have been intended to be laundered.
De la Paz, who appeared at the Senate inquiry for the first time on Saturday, said he was taking full responsibility for the scandal that stemmed from his failure to declare the equivalent of P6.9 million in euros when they were on their way out of Russia.
Throughout the day-long hearing, De la Paz absolved his superior officers of the fund mess. He did not disagree when his PNP colleagues told senators that he had acted as both requesting party and approving officer of the release of a total of P10 million as travel expenses and contingency funds for the police delegation to the 77th Interpol Assembly in St. Petersburg, in violation of PNP rules and laws.
“As I mentioned in my arrival statement, I did it on my own behalf,” he said.
Allowed to go home
The retired PNP official faced the senators a day after he surrendered to Sen. Panfilo Lacson. He was ordered arrested by Santiago for failing to show up at the opening of the inquiry on Oct. 23.
But Santiago said the Senate would not continue to detain De la Paz.
She said De la Paz had been allowed to sign an affidavit of recognizance and to go home, provided that he would make himself available when the Senate summons him.
The only legacy
Before he took questions from the senators, De la Paz apologized anew for the “unfortunate” incident in Moscow on Oct. 11.
He said that in his “more than 36 years of service to the country,” he had not been involved in any “financial misdeeds,” and that he had never intended to end his career with one.
He also asserted that he had not intended to violate any laws.
“I am not going to throw away my medals earned as a former military officer and a police officer. They are the only legacy together with my unsullied name and reputation that I can bequeath to my wife, three daughters and a visually impaired son,” De la Paz said, his voice breaking.
“No amount of wealth can be more than what I want to be bequeathed to my family,” he said.
Bigger conspiracy
When told by Santiago that his admission could mean a jail sentence, De la Paz reiterated his statement.
He said his decision to bring the money was all his own, thus clearing PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno of involvement.
De la Paz also said he had authorized the disbursement of the money in anticipation of any emergency that might arise concerning the PNP delegation to the Interpol assembly.
He said the money, which came from PNP intelligence funds, were also to be used to buy “prototypes” and “software” of intelligence equipment in Moscow.
But Santiago said she is unconvinced by De la Paz’s admission and explanation.
“I refuse to believe that you are the sole perpetrator of the crime. I believe you are a part of a bigger conspiracy,” she said, adding that De la Paz’s “heroic” decision to accept full blame was “a misplaced sense of togetherness or esprit de corps out of a misguided sense of honor.”
Santiago also said De la Paz’s refusal to tell the truth and reveal the role of his superiors in the fund mess was a blow to the country’s efforts to get rid of corruption.
She said De la Paz was not the big fish in the case, and that the Office of the Ombudsman should also investigate his superiors, Verzosa and Puno.
Empathy
The senators repeatedly told De la Paz that his actions were uncharacteristic of a man described to them as a “straight” police official.
Sen. Mar Roxas said he had even welcomed De la Paz’s appointment as PNP comptroller because he had heard that the latter was an honest official.
Senators Loren Legarda, Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Rodolfo Biazon said they “empathized” with the witness.
“The situation your wife is in right now is your making,” Pimentel said. “It is unfortunate that she has to be dragged into this.”
Said Biazon: “I empathize with you to the point of feeling pity.”
Like Bolante
But De la Paz did not see himself as the fall guy. When Biazon said it appeared that he was the scapegoat for the other officials, De la Paz replied: “There is no scapegoat. That is the truth, your honor.”
Santiago likened De la Paz to former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante, who was grilled by the Senate on Thursday for the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
“There are similarities between the Bolante case and this ‘euro generals’ case. The focus of the investigation, the people likely to be accused in a criminal prosecution by the Ombudsman, are very obviously covering up for people higher than themselves,” Santiago told reporters.
On his instructions
Per his account, De la Paz said he had requested P10 million from PNP intelligence funds to cover the travel expenses (P2.192 million) and the contingency fund (P6.9 million).
Under questioning by Pimentel, he said he requested the money from Senior Supt. Tomas Rentoy III, chief of the PNP budget division, and received it in his office on Oct. 3.
He said he signed a memorandum receipt dated Oct. 3 for the P10 million, which was given to him in P1,000 bills.
“The release of P10 million of travel expenses and contingency fund was based on my instructions,” De la Paz told Santiago in reply to her question of whether he was taking the responsibility and absolving his superiors, Verzosa and Puno.
To Santiago’s question of whether De la Paz could carry a contingency fund, Commission on Audit (COA) chair Reynaldo Villar said: “I don’t think that’s allowed.”
“In effect,” commented Santiago, “the COA is calling the PNP a liar.”
Skeptical of the statements of De la Paz and the PNP that the money was government funds, Santiago raised questions on the documents submitted by police officials.
“It appears there are efforts to produce or creatively fabricate documents,” she declared, adding that when she saw the PNP report on its investigation of the fund mess, “I could smell something rotten 10 feet away.”
Santiago shredded Rentoy’s statements and assailed him for “sloppy paper work.”
She also ordered the Senate Sergeant of Arms to issue an arrest order for money changer Feliza Sakaluran, whose office converted the P6.9 million to 105,000 euros.
Sakaluran did not show up at Saturday’s hearing.
In cash
De la Paz also said the P10 million was released to him in cash.
Asked by Pimentel why a check covering the amount was not issued, De la Paz said “there was no check for it.”
Pimentel wondered whether this was done to avoid a “paper trail.”
The witness said cash was more convenient because it could be used immediately.
De la Paz stuck to the PNP line that the money was intended to buy intelligence equipment in Russia.
Santiago, however, referred to the mutual defense agreement between the Philippines and the United States, which requires the former to buy military equipment only from the latter.
Biazon pointed out that while De la Paz had intended to buy intelligence equipment in Russia, no intelligence officer was part of the delegation.
The witness did not respond.
To the questioning of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, the chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, De la Paz admitted that the PNP had not purchased any military equipment in Russia but had bought guns in Europe.
