Probe ‘pork’ scammers first–Ombudsman

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines –  A preliminary investigation and not the  filing of  cases against  those involved in the  alleged P10 billion pork barrel scam, has been  recommended  by  an investigating  arm  of the  Office of the  Ombudsman,  Ombudsman  Conchita  Carpio-Morales  herself said  on  Thursday.

“No. they recommended that  the charges  be subjected to  preliminary investigation,”  Morales told reporters  in the Senate when  asked   if the  reports  were true  that the Field Investigating  Office (FIO)  of her office  has  recommended the filing  of cases  against  the  respondents  in  the  scam before the  Sandiganbayan.

“Iba yung  preliminary investigation, iba yung filing of case in the Sandiganbayan,”  she pointed out.

Morales  also denied   that she received an eight-page memorandum from the investigating  team  of her  office, which named Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce-Enrile as  the mastermind of the scam .

“I’m surprised about  that eight-page memo,. There’s no such thing as eight-page memo,”  she said.

“I have  several memos.  I don’t recall about an eight-page memo pero ang memo na natataggap ko more than 200 pages,” she added.

The  Ombudsman  also refused to say when  her office  would decide  whether or not to file the charges  against  those involved in the scam.

“Ayan na naman kayo,  pag mabilis magrereklamo, pag matagal nagrereklamo. You  know  men are fools. When  it’s hot, you want it cold, when it’s cold you want it hot,” Morales said.

“So I’m not going  to say whether it’s going to be done or over by the year’s end,” she added.

Related Stories:

‘Enrile unseen hand in pork scam’

Janet Napoles and the pork barrel scam

Read more...