Ombudsman denies talks with Jinggoy camp: We will follow the evidence

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Saturday denied there were talks with Senator Jinggoy Estrada regarding his plunder and graft charges.

"May mga sinabi kasi si Senator Jinggoy Estrada na marami raw kumakausap sa kaniya tungkol sa mga kaso. Ang sasabihin ko lang sa mga kung sino man ang mga, merong kumakausap, hindi ho ako nakikipag-usap kahit kanino tungkol sa ganiyang bagay," Remulla said in his radio program.

(Senator Jinggoy Estrada said that many individuals are talking to him regarding his cases. I will just tell those who are talking to him, I am not talking to anyone about these kind of matters.)

"Kung ano ang ebidensiya, 'yun po ang aming susundin. Kung ano ang ebidensiya, we will follow the evidence. Walang puwedeng mangako," Remulla added.

(What the evidence presents, we will pursue. We will follow the evidence. No one can make promises.)

Remulla said the Office of the Ombudsman refuses to be an instrument for political agenda.

"Kasi ayaw nating ma-weaponize 'yung opisina na aking pinangungunahan. We cannot weaponize it. Hindi po ito puwedeng maging sandata ng politika," he said.

(Because we do not want to weaponize the office I lead. We cannot weaponize it. This cannot be a political weapon.)

"Hindi dapat makikinig sa ganiyang mga bilin sapagkat hindi po kami nakikipag-usap sa ganiyang bagay," Remulla called on Estrada.

(You should not listen to such instructions because we do not discuss with such matters.)

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano earlier denied that the P573-million plunder and graft charges filed against Estrada and his four other co-accused are politically motivated.

Clavano responded to Estrada’s allegation that he was approached to abandon the Senate majority bloc in exchange for the charges against him being dropped.

The camp of Estrada had asked the Sandiganbayan to junk the plunder and two counts of graft charges that the Office of the Ombudsman filed against him in connection with the flood control mess. --VAL, GMA News