3rd batch of ‘pork’ scam cases, DAP lies with next Ombudsman — Morales

Due to the high volume of cases pending at her office, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said her successor will have to resume the investigation and indictment of personalities involved in the third batch of "pork" scam cases and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) of the Aquino administration.

In a television interview Monday, Morales said she expects to break her promise of finishing these cases before she finishes her seven-year term in July.

"I said, I intended to finish it before or on about the expiration of my term. But unfortunately, given the volume of cases that the office is handling, I am afraid we may not be able to finish all PDAF cases. There are several of them," Morales told CNN-Philippines.

The National Bureau of Investigation had charged at least seven lawmakers of graft, malversation, and direct bribery at the Office of the Ombudsman in 2015 due to their alleged involvement in the multi-billion-peso scheme.

The list includes Senators Gringo Honasan and Joel Villanueva; ABONO party-list Representative Conrado Estrella III; and former House legislators Rufus Rodriguez, Amado Bagatsing, Robert Raymund Estrella, Manuel Ortega, Victor Francisco Ortega, and Isidro Real Jr.

Only former Budget and Management chief Florencio Abad has been found to have probable cause for indictment in court on the DAP case, while the charges against former President Benigno Aquino III and former DBM undersecretary Mario Relampagos have been dismissed. 

Morales said "the volume of work is simply too overpowering" for her office to finish both, noting that the Ombudsman still has more than 6,000 cases in its docket as of December 31, 2017.

She added her successor must immediately attend to pending cases in court and prioritize the investigations concerning DAP, the pork barrel scam, and the Malampaya fund scam.

Meanwhile, Morales cited the cases against former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, and businessman Jaime Ongpin as the landmark cases she filed during her term.

The cases of Arroyo and Onping, however, were already dismissed while Binay and his son, former Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr., have yet to formally enter their plea on the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Parking Building case.

No selective justice

In the same interview, Morales reiterated that there was no selective justice on the indictments of former Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada at the Sandiganbayan in connection with the pork barrel scam.

She said these were prioritized due to their high-profile status, while the affidavit of alleged scheme mastermind Janet Lim Napoles and the testimony of whistle-blower Benhur Luy also contributed to their criminal charges.

"Why were these cases prioritized? First, they are high profile cases. Second and more importantly, you'd recall that Napoles executed an affidavit naming them, detailing the circumstances that gave rise to these cases," Morales said.

"It was easier for us to pass upon these cases because there was this confession of Napoles and of course, independently of that, we have the testimony of Luy and we have documentary evidence sourced from Luy and sourced elsewhere," she added. — RSJ, GMA News