SC affirms Ombudsman ruling to bar Pichay from holding any public office

Prospero Pichay Jr.

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2011 that barred incumbent Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr. from holding any public office for approving a questionable P780-million deal when he was still the chair of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).

In a 40-page notice, the high tribunal’s First Division rejected Pichay’s claim that he was not given due process when the antigraft body found him guilty of grave misconduct for pushing for LWUA’s acquisition of an insolvent thrift bank without the required clearances from the state financial regulators.

It also thumbed down his consolidated petitions to void the two resolutions of the Court of Appeals in 2013 and 2014, and the two subsequent orders of the Sandiganbayan in 2016 and 2017, that affirmed the Ombudsman’s decision to indict him for graft.

“Poring over the documents made available before this court, it cannot be said that Pichay was deprived of an opportunity to raise his defenses of the charges laid down against him,” the court said in a resolution dated Nov. 11, 2021, which was made public only on Jan. 14.

“Pichay cannot conveniently close his eyes on these allegations and nitpick, which among the allegations he would choose to answer and thereafter cry violation of due process,” it stressed.

As correctly held by the Ombudsman, the tribunal said the penalties imposed on Pichay for committing an administrative offense included perpetual disqualification from holding public office, cancellation of eligibility and forfeiture of retirement benefits.

Pichay, however, said on Monday said that the Supreme Court decision was not yet final and executory. “I respect the decision of the Supreme Court, however, I am determined to exhaust all possible legal remedies accorded to me by law. Given this, I stand by my position that the Ombudsman has no authority to discipline the Members of Congress,” Pichay said in a statement.

The case against Pichay stemmed from a complaint filed by LWUA employees for his role in the purchase of Express Savings Bank Inc. (Esbi), a bankrupt Laguna-based thrift bank that the state water utility agency bought in 2009 despite the bank’s “precarious financial standing.”

The Ombudsman said Pichay and three other LWUA officials approved the deal without any memorandum of agreement and without any authority from the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Department of Finance.

“The flagrant disregard of the rules committed by Pichay, despite being knowledgeable of the requirements for obtaining Esbi, as evinced by the letters that were sent to him, is evident,” the court said.

“This repeated disregard of the rules equates to a grave misconduct,” it ruled.

—WITH A REPORT FROM NESTOR CORRALES