Ombudsman files 8 new graft charges against ‘eurogenerals’

By: 11 years ago

Retired PNP Director General Avelino Razon and former PNP director for comptrollership Eliseo de la Paz. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

The Ombudsman has filed eight new graft charges against a former comptroller of the Philippine National Police in connection with the allegedly irregular grant of allowances to a group of police generals who attended a conference in Russia in 2008, in what has come to be known as the “eurogenerals” scam.

In separate charges, the Ombudsman on Thursday charged Eliseo de la Paz, a former PNP director for comptrollership, with violations of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Other police officials, who are all now retired, who were also involved in approving the millions of pesos in allowances for the police generals who attended the 7th Interpol General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia, from Oct. 7 to 10, 2008, were similarly charged.

De la Paz’s coaccused, known as the “eurogenerals” at the height of the scandal which was also investigated by the Senate, are Director Romeo Tapucar Ricardo, chief of Directorate for Plans; Deputy Director General Emmanuel Rivera Carta, then PNP deputy chief for administration; Director General Ismael Ramilo Rafanan, then deputy chief for operations; Director German Barut Doria, then director of the Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development; Director Jaime Garcia Caringal, then regional director for the Zamboanga Peninsula; Chief Supt. Orlando Legaspi Pestaño, director for the PNP Finance Service; and Supt. Samuel Precia Rodriguez, special disbursing officer, Finance Service.

A ninth charge sheet named only Ricardo as the accused.

They were all charged for “willfully, unlawfully and criminally [giving] unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference to the PNP delegation by allowing the release of money from the PNP confidential and intelligence funds for the allowance of the PNP delegation, thereby causing injury to the PNP and the government.”

The investigation showed that the generals had been allowed to attend the conference even though they were scheduled to retire the following year.

During the trip, De la Paz and his wife were briefly detained and interrogated at the Moscow International Airport for carrying a large sum of undeclared money—105,000 euros (P6.9 million).

Retired PNP Director General Avelino Razon was also charged with graft because he was the PNP chief when the funds for the trip were approved although the Moscow airport incident took place a month after he had already been replaced by Director General Jesus Verzosa.

The Ombudsman was able to establish that the 105,000 euros seized from De la Paz in Russia was not a “cash advance” from the PNP, as he had claimed, but was actually his own money.

“Documents executed by PNP officials as to the nature of the funds were shown to be misleading, as the funds were not part of PNP funds,” said Assistant Ombudsan Joselito Fangon. Cynthia Balana