Morato asks court to throw out plunder case against him

MANILA, Philippines—Claiming there was “lack of probable cause,” former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Director Manuel Morato asked the Sandiganbayan Friday to dismiss the plunder charges filed against him by the Ombudsman.

In a 23-page motion filed with the Sandiganban on Friday, Morato also asked the anti-graft court’s First Division to recall the arrest warrant it issued against him in connection with criminal case SB-12-CRN-0174.

In a text message, Morato told the Inquirer he was a “victim, not a suspect” in the plunder case, where his co-accused include former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and five other former PCSO officials and two officials of the Commission on Audit.

“It is absolutely not true that any of the questioned [PCSO intelligence funds] ended up in my pocket. I also have no knowledge that the money ended up in the pockets of any of the case respondents,” he said.

“The supposed hints of irregularities remain to be conjectures, speculations, if not outright rumors,” he added.

Morato claimed the Ombudsman had charged him “merely on allegation of conspiracy based on the PCSO board resolutions I signed being a member of the board, ratifying the order of then President Arroyo.”

The Ombudsman “threw away legal doctrines, particularly pertaining to the requirement of direct and clear evidence of conspiracy, the presumption of the regularity of official conduct on the acts of the entire government machinery of the PCSO, like its accounting and legal departments,” he said.

FORMER PCSO chair Manuel “Manoling” Morato. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Morato said that he had to ratify approvals by Arroyo of  fund releases because “subordinates are bound to follow the acts of their superiors.”

Morato said he had nothing to do with the disbursement and implementation of PCSO intelligence funds.

“My participation was limited to my vote in the board resolutions ratifying the acts of the President on the matter of the confidential funds. As a director, I had to rely on the presumption of regularity of the staff work’s documentation and there was no irregularity that was palpable or was brought to my attention at that time,” he said.

Morato also appealed to the Sandiganbayan to “keep in mind the right mindset in a non-bailable case like this.”

“The charge of plunder is very serious and this honorable office should weigh the… evidence with utmost care lest the innocents suffer the gravest injustice,” he added.

Morato’s other co-respondents in the plunder case are former PCSO chair Sergio Valencia, former PCCSO general manager Rosario Uriarte and former directors Jose Taruc V, Raymundo Roquero and Ma. Fatima Valdes, as well as former COA chair Reynaldo Villar, and Nilda Palaras of COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Fraud Audit Unit.

The Ombudsman said the accused took undue advantage of their respective official positions and authorities to misappropriate up to P300 million in PCSO intelligence funds. Louie Garcia, Radyo Inquirer 990 DZIQ