Euro general: Fault is mine alone; senators unconvinced

MANILA, Philippines — After more than six hours of grilling, former Philippine National Police comptroller Director Eliseo dela Paz failed to convince the Senate that the “anomalous" acquisition of 105,000 euros (P6.9 million) for the PNP delegation to the Interpol Assembly in Russia was his fault alone. During the joint hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations and Blue Ribbon committees that began 10 a.m. and ended 4:30 p.m. Saturday, dela Paz took sole responsibility for the mess, which first caught public attention after he was held with his wife at Moscow International Airport for failing to declare 105,000, which is more than the allowable amount. Dela Paz admitted, among others, that there was an abuse of discretion on his part because he ignored the warnings of his subordinates that the release of the money sourced from the PNP’s intelligence funds was irregular and possibly anomalous. Some of the salient points that came out during the hearing include: • The amount dela Paz withdrew from the PNP Intelligence Fund totaled P10 million, of which some P2 million were used to pay for plane tickets and hotel accommodation for the 8-member delegation. The 105,000-euro amount was for “contingency" purposes; • Dela Paz and several others planned to take a side trip to Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria after the Interpol assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia; • Tyrone Arejola, the man who claimed to have given dela Paz 45,000 euros (P3 million) to buy an expensive watch, had won a contract at the PNP worth about P100 million (see related story) Asked by Senator Gregorio Honasan if he believed he abused his discretion knowing that "no one is looking over (his) shoulder," dela Paz admitted that he ignored concerns raised by his subordinates of a possible problem with the release of the funds. ‘Concern raised’ Superintendent Samuel Rodriguez, the disbursing officer for directorate for intelligence, said he informed Chief Superintendent Orlando Pestaño, finance services head, of the irregularity of dela Paz’s request for P10 million for the PNP delegation to Russia. “I made a notification addressed to my immediate officer police superintendent Pestaño that there will be a violation of some auditing roles so I made it a point to notify him through memo and I submitted it to him and then I also made a memo and I submitted to Superintendent Rentoy informing Director dela Paz that there is a violation with regard to the release of cash to be sourced from the intelligence and confidential funds," said Rodriguez. But Pestaño said he assumed the transaction was “regular" after dela Paz assured him that he would talk to the directorate for intelligence about the funds. “The moment that Director dela Paz told me that ‘ako na lang bahala diyan, ako na mage-explain sa DI dyan,’ directorate for intelligence, so I presumed na walang irregularities," said Pestaño. Dela Paz took full responsibility for the incident. “I take the full responsibility on this. No scapegoat dito. Yun po ang katotohanan," he said. Suspected coverup But senators were not convinced that the mess was dela Paz’s fault alone. Foreign affairs committee chair Miriam Defensor Santiago said she suspected that sela Paz was covering up for his superiors, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa. Santiago described dela Paz’s owning up of the responsibility as "very heroic," noting that he could be jailed for more than 20 years for the crime. "I refuse to believe that you are the sole perpetrator of the crime. I believe you are a part of a bigger conspiracy," she said. She said that the more dela Paz insisted he did it on his own, "the more you may be tying your hands when you go to trial court." "You are facing a regular sentence of 20 years in jail and possibly more than that. Are you ready to do that, go to jail more than 20 years... so that other people can be free. I refuse to believe you are the sole perpetrator of a crime or offenses... you are part of a bigger conspiracy and out of a misplaced sense of esprit de corps ... you are assuming responsibility for others. That seems to be the most humanitarian view of your situation," she told him. Santiago also said she commiserated with dela Paz and his family, "because I believe you are caught between the devil and a hard rock." More anomalies Other senators, taking turns, minced no words as they pointed to the PNP officials’ apparent violation of several rules. Sen. Manuel Roxas II, vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, noted the “closed loop" involved in dela Paz’s P10 million request as dela Paz himself had the authority to approve it as then comptroller. The former PNP comptroller also admitted that he did not declare the 105,000 euros to airport authorities even though he knew of a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) circular saying travelers should declare if they are carrying an amount more than $10,000. Dela Paz at first refused to say why he did not declare the amount, invoking the right against self-incrimination. Later on, however, he said was not able to declare the amount because of failure to communicate well with Russian officials who do not speak English. "When we arrived we just asked for the connecting flight. We had a hard time communicating with people because of language barrier," dela Paz said. He also said during the hearing that he considered using part of the P6.9-million “contingency funds" to buy prototype equipment for the PNP even as he admitted that intelligence funds cannot be used for procuring equipment. Dela Paz also admitted that he was planning to go on a “side trip" after the Interpol Assembly with his wife, regional director for Zamboanga Peninsula Jaime Caringal and his wife, and Verzosa’s wife Cynthia. In reply to the questions of Sen. Loren Legarda, dela Paz said after the Moscow convention, they had planned to go to Warsaw, Poland; then to Prague in the Czech Republic; then Budapest, Hungary; and then to Vienna, Austria where he will buy a Roger Dubois watch for Tyrone Ng Arejola. Dela Paz clarified, however, that the 105,000 euros he carried for the PNP delegation would not be used for the side trip. "Hindi para sa sidetrip. Dahil pinirmahan ko yan subject to liquidation. Hindi ko po maexplain kung gagastusin ko po 'yan (That is not for the sidetrip. The money is subject to liquidation, I might not be able to explain if I will spend it)," Dela Paz said. Ignorant of law Meanwhile, Director Romeo Ricardo of the directorate for plans, who recommended the delegates to the Interpol Assembly, said he was not aware that the law forbids retiring officials from using public funds for foreign travels. “I processed the travel including the recommendations for those who will attend…the officers in my directorate would be the one to name or select or recommend the participants," said Ricardo. “Before this incident happened I am not aware of the provision that there’s a ban on government officials to use government funds for foreign travels if they have less than one year of service," Ricardo said upon the questioning of Sen. Benigno Aquino III who restrictions on the use of government funds. Most of the members of the PNP delegation are nearing retirement, including Ricardo himself, who is 55. At least two other delegates, dela Paz and Caringal, have recently retired. Before the hearing ended, Roxas asked Dela Paz’s legal counsel Noel Malaya to produce an affidavit of cognizance for the release of the retired police official. "You will be released as soon as you can provide or execute an affidavit of cognizance," Roxas told Dela Paz. Earlier in the hearing, Santiago said the affidavit will give the assurance that Dela Paz will return to the Senate whenever he is needed. Santiago warned that if the lawyer fails to bring Dela Paz to future hearings, the lawyer would be cited for contempt. Roxas said Saturday will not be the last hearing as another hearing will be held by the Senate to wrap up the controversy. - GMANews.TV