‘Ombudsman should not be selective’

MANILA, Philippines—“The Ombudsman should not be selective. Many administration senators and congressmen are equally guilty. They too must be investigated and charged.”

This statement by Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles likewise reflected the sentiment of Vice President Jejomar Binay and other lawmakers expressed a day after the Office of the Ombudsman announced sufficient evidence warranted the indictment of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. for plunder and other graft charges.

The three senators were among 40 people named criminally liable in connection with the alleged P10-billion racket involving the diversion of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations to ghost projects proposed by nongovernment organizations (NGOs) controlled by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, who was also charged.

Palace ‘favors no one’

Malacañang on Wednesday maintained that the filing of cases against individuals involved in the PDAF schemes would be “based on evidence that favors no one.”

“The guiding principle that we have been following from the very start is what the President has said: ‘Let the evidence direct the course of the inquiry,’” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a press conference. “We are a government of laws, not of men. Let the rule of law take its course.”

Binay on Wednesday said the filing of cases should not be limited to “those who are not allied with the administration.”

“If it stops with the filing of the plunder cases against three senators who are not political allies and confines itself to the Napoles case, it will create the impression of being selective, and that political partisanship—not justice—is the sole motivation behind these charges,” he said in a statement.

Binay called attention to “other legislators and other fake NGOs in a comprehensive report” released by the Commission on Audit (COA) last year.

“We hope the concerned government agencies will act on these findings with the same determination and focus displayed in the Napoles case,” he said. “The public would want no less than full accountability from its public officials. The rule of law must prevail regardless of stature or political affiliations.”

Protracted court battle

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he expected the Ombudsman to face a protracted court battle that could spill over beyond this administration.

“I think it is still a long process with the accused using all remedies available to delay or quash the complaints,” said Belmonte in a text message.

Belmonte said the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation should continue their probe of other transactions involving the three senators considering that the present case only covered transactions from 2007 to 2009.

Probe should continue

“If there are additional charges, these should be looked into,” said Belmonte.

But Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon said investigation should continue on the cases of lawmakers embroiled in the pork barrel scam based on the COA reports in the first three years of the Aquino administration.

“The investigative ax should similarly fall on all the others,” he said. “The manner of plundering the funds may be different from the Napoles scheme and should be investigated with the same resolve as what had previously been done. We cannot allow other fake NGOs to remain scot-free, including their coconspirators in all government branches.”