Another Ombudsman case readied against Lopez

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez takes the oath before the Commission on Appointments.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

Add one more to the travails of Environment Secretary Gina Lopez. Another case is set to be filed against the nemesis of the mining industry with the Office of the Ombudsman, for allegedly interceding with the Department of Energy on behalf of a private company which reportedly paid for the secretary’s trip to France in 2016.

Lester Pascual, speaking for complainant Vienna Tañada, issued a statement questioning the relationship between Lopez and EcoGlobal Inc (or EI).

“Lopez could be found guilty for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for having sought to influence the DOE to award the contract to EI and for traveling to France with all expenses paid by the company to visit one of its partners in Paris,” Pascual’s statement read. Tañada was business development manager at EI.

Pascua said the company paid for Lopez and her five-person party, all of whom left for Paris on October 2, or a day before the DOE awarded EI the renewable energy service contract (RESC) for a power plant in Zamboanga City. On September 29, Pascual said, EI CEO Jean-Philippe Henry pledged to the French embassy in Manila that it will shoulder the costs of the Lopez party’s “airfare, hotel accommodations, insurance coverage, and travel allowances for the entire duration of their business trip.”

Lopez has told the Inquirer that she  sent a text message in September to DOE Director Mario Marasigan, head of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau, to talk to him about EI’s power plant contract.

Lopez, who was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments last week, has received both criticism and praise for her stance on mining. On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte told reporters he supported Lopez, a member of the influential family behind the ABS-CBN network, and would reappoint her.  JN/rga