Ex-COA chief and co-accused in Arroyo plunder case nabbed

Mugshot of Reynaldo Villar. PNP PIO FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Police arrested former Commission on Audit (COA) chief Reynaldo Villar, co-accused of former President and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a plunder case, on Thursday.

Arroyo, along with Villar and others, were charged over the alleged misuse of P366 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds that went to “fictitious” expenses in the last two and a half years of her term.

‎Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac said in an initial report that elements of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested Villar around 4 p.m. in Parañaque City.

Villar was served ‎an arrest warrant issued by the first division of Sandiganbayan for plunder charges, which is a non-bailable offense.

The fugitive was found by the CIDG officials along Washington Square in Merville Park.

Also charged with plunder in the Sandiganbayan were former PCSO Chairman Sergio Valencia; former General Manager Rosario Uriarte; former board members Manuel Morato, Jose Taruc V, Raymundo Roquero and Ma. Fatima Valdes; and former budget and accounts manager Benigno Aguas, and Nilda Plaras, erstwhile intelligence and confidential fund audit unit head.

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