Ex-Speaker Nograles to appeal filing of raps against him

Former House Speaker Prospero Nograles on Tuesday said he will file a motion seeking to reverse the Ombudsman's order to file charges against him over his alleged anomalous use of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of a former congressman.

"I have not received a copy of the decision of the Ombudsman but nonetheless we are preparing our motion for reconsideration hoping that the body would go the extra mile to study the authenticity of their documents," Nograles said in a statement.

"We still have a lot of legal remedies but we are also ready to fight this all-out before the Sandiganbayan. The Ombudsman is losing a lot of cases because they seem to lack the patience and the diligence to study their cases," he added.

Nograles is facing three counts of violations of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, one count of malversation and two counts of malversation through falsification of public documents.

But the former House Speaker claimed that the Ombudsman's decision was only based on "spurious documents and mismatched timelines."

"These allegations are obviously without basis," he said. "The documents that they are using as evidence are fake and their narratives don't even match vis-a-vis their timelines. This resolution is based on wrong premises."

Ombudsman investigation showed that from 2007 to 2009, the Department of Budget and Management released P47.5 million as part of the PDAF of then-Misamis Oriental Rep. Danilo Lagbas, who died in 2008, to be used for the integrated livelihood projects of the district.

The National Agri-business Corporation (NABCOR), National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC) and Technology Resource Center (TRC) were chosen as implementing agencies.

However, Ombudsman field investigation in Mindanao showed that the beneficiaries of the project denied receiving livelihood items and equipment.

The projects were supported by questionable documents, and the suppliers also did not provide farm implements or issue any invoices and receipts, the Ombudsman said.

Documents and testimonies also reveal that Lagbas and Nograles not only proposed, selected and identified the programs to be funded by the PDAF, but also directly participated in some phases of the project implementation.

Although he became a caretaker representative after Lagbas' death, Nograles insisted that he had administrative control over daily operations of his office. He also said he did not receive and facilitate the release of the funds.

Nograles also claimed that the documents presented as evidence contained spurious signatures. Material facts such as the SARO attributed to him was dated while Lagbas was still alive, he added.

Moreover, Nograles said the other documents used by the Ombudsman as basis for the order showed his supposed signatures, even though he was in Saudi Arabia at that time for a diplomatic mission.

"How can one be in two places at the same time? I was in Saudi Arabia and I have all the documents including photos to prove this when the Ombudsman claimed that I signed the allegedly anomalous PDAF documents," he said.

Nograles urged the people behind the filing of charges against him to stop as he no longer has any interest in any government position.

"I'm retired and I'm happy taking care of my wife, my grandchildren and my dogs so leave me alone. Any true legal mind would agree that the cases filed by the Ombudsman are without basis in fact and in law," he said. —KBK, GMA News