De la Paz says he’ll reimburse €105,000
By Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:42:00 11/20/2008
Filed Under: Euro Generals, Police, Congress
MANILA, Philippines—If and when, the Moscow caper will literally cost retired Philippine National Police comptroller Eliseo de la Paz.
Testifying Wednesday at the House of Representatives, De la Paz expressed willingness to reimburse from his own pocket the cash confiscated from him by Russian authorities in Moscow early in October.
He told members of the House committee on public order and safety, which is looking into the fund scandal, that the 105,000 euros (P6.9 million) confiscated from him had yet to be returned.
The committee chaired by Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino is planning an executive session on Thursday to allow De la Paz to elaborate on the intelligence equipment that he and his colleagues were purportedly planning to purchase overseas.
De la Paz stuck to his story on why he was carrying the huge amount of cash as disbursing officer of a PNP delegation to the 77th Interpol General Assembly in St. Petersburg—that it would be used as a contingency fund and to buy intelligence equipment.
As in his testimony at the Senate last week, he claimed all responsibility for the scandal and absolved his superiors—PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno—of involvement.
He said the scandal was a “big blow” to him, coming as it did on the heels of his retirement. (He retired as PNP comptroller just as the Interpol conference was ending.)
Verzosa also said it was his predecessor, Avelino Razon, who had approved the list of delegates to the Interpol conference because the trip was planned during the latter’s tenure.
Razon’s approval was made on Aug. 6, while the approval of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) came in September.
“All preparations of travel orders did not happen during my term,” Verzosa said.
All smiles
De la Paz said it was he as comptroller who had approved the release of the P6.9 million. He said he had also received it as special disbursement officer for the Russia trip.
But at the end of the hearing that took roughly four hours, relief was evident in the body language of De la Paz, Verzosa and the other PNP officials summoned.
Both Verzosa and De la Paz were all smiles when the hearing was adjourned; they expressed optimism that their testimonies would lead to legislation that would prevent a repeat of the incident at the Moscow international airport on Oct. 11.
Verzosa hoped that with the House agreeing to go into executive session to hear the details of the officials’ planned purchase of intelligence equipment, the PNP would finally clear the air on the use of the money.
De la Paz smiled widely during the interview with reporters, and said he found no difference between the inquiries in the Senate (where he was tormented by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago) and in the House (where the congressmen delved into areas already discussed in the other chamber).
Asked whether he was relieved that the congressional inquiries were now on their last legs, he said: “I always have the same feeling.”
Said Verzosa: “It’s all the same; we are now used to these hearings. After the Senate hearings, we knew more or less how this will go. We are confident that proper legislation will come out of these hearings and finally clear this controversy.”
De la Paz said he had been trying to get enough sleep in order to regain the pounds he lost at the height of the scandal.
Retirement benefits on hold
“I try my best to sleep well, but I am not worried about myself,” he said. “It’s my family that is my first concern.”
De la Paz also said he did not regret taking the fall for the Moscow scandal: “I have to take responsibility for my actions. I can’t blame somebody else. That is my responsibility.”
At the hearing, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo cited a Napolcom report recommending that De la Paz replace the confiscated cash in the event that it is not returned, and asked if the latter would be able to comply.
The witness replied in Filipino: “As of now, my P2.6 million in retirement benefits is on hold. But if authorities will order me to return the money, I will look for ways to reimburse it.”
He also quoted the Russian lawyer he was coordinating with as saying that the final report on the incident was just being finalized, and that the money would be returned to him as soon as this is completed.
When it was pointed out to him that Philippine authorities had submitted all the required documents to prove that the cash was government money, De la Paz said the Russian authorities had their own pace and might be looking for other documents to aid their own inquiry.
Easier time
At the Senate hearing, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel expressed doubt that Russian authorities would return the 105,000 euros. He pointed out that the money was confiscated because a Russian regulation had been violated—that money in excess of the allowable $3,000 should be declared.
The PNP officials had an easier time at the House than at the Senate.
Few of the congressmen posed pointed questions. Some even punctuated their questioning with statements that the PNP was close to their hearts because their kin had ties with it.
Antonino’s reminder to his colleagues that their questions should be intended to solicit facts and not to prejudge the resource persons set the amicable tone for the hearing.
Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez also urged his colleagues not to use the phrase “euro generals” to refer to those embroiled in the controversy in order “to preserve the dignity of our resource persons.”
De la Paz explained during the hearing that he got the P6.9 million (for “contingencies”) and P2.1 million (for travel expenses) from the PNP intelligence fund because the money from the program travel allocation was not yet available and there were expenses that had to be covered in preparation for the trip.
He made the statement after Ocampo, reading from a Napolcom report, noted that this procedure was unusual.
De la Paz also said it was part of his training to solve a problem on his own as much as possible so that he would not have to bother his superiors.
Spouses
Another point of interest for the lawmakers was who accompanied the eight-member PNP delegation to the Interpol conference.
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño wondered if, aside from the six officials who had brought their spouses, other delegates had brought companions. He said there were “persistent reports” to this effect.
Deputy Director General Ismael Rafanan, PNP chief for operations, said he was alone but not lonely because he was engrossed in the Interpol discussions. His remark drew chuckles from the gallery and some lawmakers.
Golez asked if it was common practice for officials to be accompanied by their spouses. He said he had raised the issue because former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes was earlier found to have been joined by his wife in 50 trips.
PNP Director Romeo Ricardo, chief of the directorate for plans, said spouses did not usually accompany the police officials but were usually included in trips where social functions were specified in the invitation.
As for the role of the PNP chief’s wife, Cynthia Verzosa, in the trip, Ricardo said she was part of the delegation in the list submitted to the organizers of the Interpol conference.
Wristwatches
He said this was for protocol purposes so that the organizers would know that the PNP chief’s spouse was there.
Casiño had noted that Cynthia Verzosa was listed as an official delegate and that her designation was the Office of the Deputy Chief for Administration.
Also rousing the lawmakers’ interest was businessman Tyrone Ng Arejola, who had earlier said he gave De la Paz 45,000 euros to buy luxury wristwatches.
Antonino asked Arejola what kind of watch he was wearing at the moment.
Arejola raised his bare wrists and said he had intentionally not worn a timepiece.
Said Antonino: “That’s too bad. I wanted to see a beautiful watch. Can you tell us what kinds of watches are in your collection?”
Arejola replied that the watches in his collection were not necessarily expensive.
He said he had pieces from lower-priced brands, even “wall clocks.” He added that he had asked De la Paz to buy the luxury watches because he had long been dreaming of owning such limited-edition timepieces.
Ombudsman
The Office of the Ombudsman will have to wait until next week before it can summon De la Paz and other officials involved in the Moscow caper.
But Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the investigation would not necessarily be delayed because representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Commission on Audit had been summoned.
Jalandoni said he and his five-member team were studying the transcripts of the Senate inquiry.
“We want to make sure that if we do summon them, we won’t ask questions that had already been asked at the Senate hearing,” he said.
He added that he and his team had until the first week of December to wrap up the probe. With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. and Alcuin Papa
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