The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay accused Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales of harassing the political opposition when she ordered the filing of charges against his known allies.
In a statement on Wednesday, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) spokesperson Mon Ilagan said the Ombudsman is “overzealous” in its bid to smear the reputation of Binay’s allies ahead of the May 9 elections.
Ilagan said the Ombudsman wanted to derail the election bids of those it charged who were allied with Binay such as Cebu Representative Gwendolyn Garcia and ousted Laguna Governor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito.
Garcia and Ejercito hail from vote-rich provinces. Cebu has 2.7 million registered voters, while Laguna has 1.7 million registered voters.
Garcia was indicted by the Ombudsman for graft over the anomalous procurement for the architectural and engineering design and various civil and other works for the P425.6 million-Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).
In 2006, Garcia as then governor resorted to the alternative method of procurement without public bidding, the Ombudsman said. Garcia is running for reelection as congresswoman under UNA in the upcoming polls.
READ: Gwen Garcia, 11 others face charges before Sandiganbayan
Meanwhile, Ejercito was charged before the Sandiganbayan for graft for entering an allegedly anomalous insurance deal for tourists plying the Pagsanjan gorge when he was Pagsanjan mayor in 2008. He is seeking to reclaim the gubernatorial seat under UNA.
The Ombudsman prosecutors said the insurance deal was entered into without public bidding and that the insurance company was not licensed by the Insurance Commission to engage in the business.
READ: ER Ejercito, 8 others face graft raps over insurance deal
In 2014, Ejercito was ousted as Laguna governor by the Commission on Elections for overspending in his 2013 campaign.
Also charged by the Ombudsman was sacked Special Action Force (SAF) commander Getulio Napeñas, who was indicted for usurpation of powers and graft for his alleged role in the botched Mamasapano operation that claimed the lives of 44 elite cops. Napeñas is running as senator under UNA.
READ: Ombudsman: Napeñas, Purisima liable for Mamasapano carnage
“Look at the timing of these cases being filed? Halos isang dekada nila inupuan, tapos biglang bubuhayin (They have been sitting on the cases for almost a decade then they will revive it all of a sudden)? It’s quite sad that the Office of the Ombudsman allows itself to be used as a tool by the administration to harass the political opposition. It has also become a willing accomplice to the administration party’s propaganda machine,” Ilagan said.
In a statement, the Office of the Ombudsman said it charged Garcia for the criminal aspect based on the same information for which Garcia was also administratively charged.
However, the office dismissed the administrative case which would have dismissed Garcia as a public official because of the condonation doctrine, under which an official may be spared from administrative liability by virtue of his or her reelection in office.
Ilagan said while the Ombudsman has charged opposition members, it has yet to file cases against administration allies like Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala over the outlawed Disbursement Acceleration Program and the alleged pork barrel scam.
“Sa ginagawa ngayon ni Ombudsman Morales-Carpio sa mga kasamahan at kaalyado namin sa UNA, malinaw na nakikialam na rin sya sa eleksyon sa pamamagitan ng pagsasampa ng kaliwa’t kanang mga kaso—pero ang nakakapagtaka e ayaw niyang galawin ang mga kakampi ng Liberal Party,” he added.
(With what Ombudsman Morales-Carpio is doing to our comrades and allies under UNA, it is apparent that she is meddling in the elections by means of filing cases—but it makes us wonder why she isn’t filing charges against allies of Liberal Party.)
Ombudsman Morales has denied targeting the opposition and maintained her impartiality in filing cases.
READ: Ombudsman Morales: My job is to indict the corrupt
Binay’s camp made the statement as the Ombudsman also indicted the vice president and his son dismissed Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay for graft, malversation and falsification of public documents for the alleged rigging of the procurement for the design and construction of the allegedly overpriced P2.8 billion Makati car park building.
READ: Ombudsman finds probable cause to charge VP Binay with graft
While the Ombudsman has yet to charge the vice president because he is immune from suit, it has charged his son dismissed Makati mayor before the Sandiganbayan for graft and falsification. RAM
READ: Junjun Binay charged with graft, document falsification over carpark building
