Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The preliminary investigation being undertaken by the Officer of the Ombudsman into the P10 billion “pork barrel” scam has allegedly turned into a “moro-moro” if indeed there was a memorandum that already named Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce-Enrile as the mastermind of the scam.
“We are seriously concerned with the content of the supposed memo. Whether existent or not, the mention of the supposed memo has already created tremendous prejudicial publicity against Senator Enrile,” the senator’s lawyers said in a letter to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dated November 22, a copy of which was emailed to media companies on Monday.
The memo being referred to supposedly tagged Enrile as the mastermind of the pork barrel scam. The Philippine Daily Inquirer published a story based on the eight-page memo.
“The theory seems to be that the very lack of evidence against the senator (having been called the” unseen” hand, referring to a “layering” that has no trace to him, etc.) forms the very proof of his guilt as the supposed mastermind,” the letter said.
Enrile’s lawyers lamented that the senator already appeared to be the most guilty “when he has not been given a chance to be heard.”
“Therefore, if there is any such memo from within your office, already recommending the filing of charges, and naming Senator Enrile as the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, there appears to be no point in asking Senator Enrile to answer the accusation against him, since your officers, who shall supposedly handle the preliminary investigation, have already officially determined that the Senator is not only guilty, but even the ultimate mastermind of the alleged crime,” they said in the letter.
“This prosecutorial misconduct has certainly converted the entire preliminary investigation process into a moro-moro, with a pre-ordained outcome that will totally disregard any argument or evidence to be presented by Senator Enrile,” they added.
Enrile’s camp also blasted the Inquirer for releasing the memo especially when it provided its online edition, Inquirer.net, a copy of the said memo.
The lawyers said the Inquirer might have violated the prohibition against public disclosure as provided for under the laws.
“We are surprised at how the Philippine Daily Inquirer can boldly say that it has obtained a supposed memo (regardless of the number of pages) from within your office, which was not even cited in any of your official press releases,” the lawyers said.
“Access to this memo, if at all existent, may appear to be a violation of the prohibition against public disclosure under Section 153 of Republic Act No. 6770 (Ombudsman Act of 1989) and Rule V, Section 24 of Administrative Order No.7 (Rules of Procedure).”
Enrile’s camp then reiterated his earlier call for the Ombudsman to investigate the leak of the supposed memo and penalize those involved .
The lawyers also requested the Ombudsman to clarify “the existence and import, and thus provide us copies, of any such memo (regardless of the number of pages), already naming Senator Emile as the alleged mastermind, and recommending the filing of charges against him at this very early stage in the proceedings.”
Related links:
‘Enrile unseen hand in pork scam’
Ombudsman: No memo nailing Enrile as ‘pork’ scam brains