CA rebukes Ombudsman order on ‘euro general’ case

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—The Court of Appeals (CA) on Thursday set aside the order of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez placing under preventive suspension an official implicated in the euro-general scandal.

In a 14-page decision, the appeals court’s 4th division, through Associate Justice Josefina Guevarra-Salonga, reversed and set aside the six month preventive suspension imposed by the Office of the Ombudsman against Philippine National Police Budget Division Director Tomas Rentoy III.

Rentoy is one of those facing administrative charges for grave misconduct, dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and criminal charges of graft and falsification along with higher ranking police officials led by retired police comptroller Director Eliseo de la Paz and his wife who were caught carrying 105,000 euros or P6.9 million at a Moscow airport in Russia in 2008.

“Even the public respondent (Ombudsman), in its comment, only made generalized allegations of the discretionary power of the Ombudsman to issue the preventive suspension and the supposed strong evidence of guilt against Rentoy III, without specifically pointing out or enumerating the acts on which the preventive suspension was based,” the decision stated.

On September last year, the Ombudsman affirmed the suspension against Rentoy, Special Disbursing Officer Samuel Rodriguez, Finance Service Director Orlando Pestano, Police Superintendent Elmer Pellobello, Directorate for Human Resources and Doctrine Development Director German Doria and Directorate for Operations Director Silverio Alarcio, Jr.

But the appeals court issued a temporary restraining order on December last year stopping the implementation of the order.

The six officials are being investigated for their involvement in the anomalous trip of De la Paz and other senior police officials who went to Russia in October 2008 for the 77th International Police (Interpol) General Assembly held at St. Petersburg.

De la Paz and his wife Marie Fe were held at Moscow airport on Oct. 11, 2008 for carrying undeclared cash when they attended the Interpol conference.