Rickett’s coaccused denies part in alleged pullout of seized items

One of the coaccused in the graft case filed against Optical Media Board Chair Ronnie Ricketts and four others said he was not part of the alleged pullout of seized counterfeit items to favor a company in 2010.

After posting bail from one count of graft on Thursday, OMB Executive Director Cyrus Paul Valenzuela said he was only included in the case because the Ombudsman presumed he should know all about the OMB operations.

He said his only role in the incident was his permission to allow the return of the truck used in the alleged pullout.

He said Ricketts never denied that he authorized the pullout.

Ricketts, Valenzuela and three others face graft for allegedly giving undue preference to Sky High Marketing Corp. when Ricketts ordered the confiscation of pirated DVDs (digital video discs) and VCDs (video compact discs) from Sky High’s office only to have the evidence withdrawn.

On May 27, 2010, the OMB seized 127 boxes and two sacks of pirated DVDs, VCDs and a video recording human IPC. Its agents also arrested three Chinese nationals during the raid in Quiapo, Manila.

The seized items were brought to the OMB office in the afternoon but were pulled out in the evening of the same day without any approved gate pass and loaded onto a vehicle owned by Sky High, the Ombudsman investigators said.

“I was never part of that operation. My participation as part of the complaint is that I was executive director and I should have known about that,” Valenzuela said.

He said he only allowed the return of the truck owned by Sky High but not the seized counterfeit with it.

He said a logbook entry would also show that he was not at the OMB office during the purported pullout.

“In my defense I showed them the logbook that I was already out of the office at the time of the incident. (The Ombudsman) came out with the resolution stating it was impossible I didn’t know about it as executive director,” Valenzuela said.

“As far as my participation, I was asked if they could return the truck na nagdala ng confiscated items sa office. I asked them (if it was) part of the inventory of seized items. They said no. I said walang problema sa pagsoli ng truck, basta hindi kasama yung mga laman,” he added.

Valenzuela said he would have been willing to become state witness had the Ombudsman also sought his side during its investigation.

“As far as being state witness, siguro hindi na. Sinama na nila ako rito eh, tapos tutulungan ko sila? They should have asked my help during the investigation case,” he said.

The court set his arraignment on Aug. 13.