Former PNP chief vows cooperation in chopper scam case
MANILA, Philippines—Former Philippine National Police chief Jesus Versoza vowed to cooperate with the Office of Ombudsman in connection with a finding by a fact-finding panel that he, along with Jose Miguel Arroyo and several other persons, was liable in the 2009 helicopter scam.
But in a statement sent through his lawyer, Benjamin De Los Santos, Versoza said he could not “intelligently comment on the charges filed by the Ombudsman yet in the absence of a copy of the complaint.”
Versoza said he did not know precisely the implication of this development, considering the the PNP had also filed a P62-million estafa case against the suppliers of the two helicopters purchased by the PNP in 2009, which turned out to be secondhand and allegedly owned by the Arroyos.
“Just the same, we shall participate in the case and trust in the cold neutrality and impartiality of Ombudsman (Conchita Carpio) Morales,” he said.
A fact-finding panel of the Office of the Ombudsman found Arroyo, the husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now Pampanga representative, liable for graft charges for the allegedly anomalous sale of helicopters.
Also found liable for violation of the antigraft law were Versoza, former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno; Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corp. president Hilario De Vera; and National Police Commission members Avelino Razon, Miguel Coronel and Celia Sanidad-Leones, Conrado Sumanga Jr., and 28 other PNP officers.
The panel’s findings is subject to a preliminary investigation to be completed in 60 days as ordered by Morales, the agency said in a statement. The inquiry will determine whether there is probable cause to file the case in court for trial.
The PNP and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee had both filed complaints against Arroyo and the PNP officials in the Office of the Ombudsman. The PNP wanted them charged with plunder, while the Senate complaint sought a graft indictment.
The case stemmed from revelations in the Senate that two Raven helicopters that the PNP purchased belonged to the former President’s husband, and were made to appear brand-new even though they were secondhand.
Apart from finding basis for the graft cases, the panel said 16 PNP officers should be charged with falsification, while 21 PNP officers should be charged with gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Lionair’s Archibald Po and Renato Sia, who had alleged that Arroyo was the owner of the used helicopters, were not among those recommended charged even though they were named in the PNP complaint.
The panel’s report was submitted to Morales on Monday and was approved on Wednesday.
