RX FOR FILING GRAFT CASES RUN OUT: GOVT STUDYING OTHER RAPS VS PEOPLE IN '04 POLL FRAUD
MANILA, AUGUST 4, 2011 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - President Aquino disclosed yesterday that the government will look at other possible charges against those allegedly involved in cheating in the 2004 elections, as the prescription period for the filing of cases appeared to have run out.
The President also deplored that the Mayuga report failed to pursue leads that could have pointed to the ones who perpetrated cheating in the 2004 general elections.
"I don't recall that it (Mayuga report) pointed in that particular direction (linking then president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macagapal-Arroyo). The issue is whenever they begin (to explore an angle) that might lead to that, they stopped that line of questioning and then they would change the topic," Aquino told reporters in Malacañang after the ceremony to hand over the petition to stop the trafficking of children and young people.
He ordered the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) to study the Mayuga report and point out to him the shortcomings of the investigation, upon the review of the thick volume of annexes.
"They repeatedly said that once the (probe) would lead to that delicate topic (of implicating Arroyo) they would change the line of questioning," Aquino said.
The findings of the military fact-finding report on the "Hello, Garci" scandal led by then Navy chief Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga were held from the public during the Arroyo administration.
But when the report was eventually made public, it absolved the generals allegedly involved in conspiracy and the manipulation of results to favor Arroyo during the 2004 elections.
Cleared were former generals Hermogenes Esperon, Gabriel Habacon and Roy Kyamko.
Retired Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, accused of being sympathetic to the opposition, was also cleared.
Gudani was relieved as head of Task Force Ranao two days after the 2004 elections for no apparent reason just as the counting of ballots and canvassing of election returns were getting underway in Lanao del Sur.
Gudani, a Marine general, later testified at the Senate that the Commission on Elections, aided by other top military officials, maneuvered to "slacken" security in Lanao del Sur, leaving the door open to massive cheating in the province.
The President directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make a recap of the PMS study and determine the possible actions that the government could undertake.
"Our problem really is, if it would all be about the 2004 elections, there are talks that we are already outside the prescription period, the time limit is five years within which you file a case. We came into the position on June 30, 2010, by that time, it's over," Aquino said.
"The DOJ is studying what other violations of the law were committed, not just election-related," Aquino said.
The President said there were reports that high-ranking officials during the past administration had been visiting military camps before the elections in 2004.
He said the government could still find out what the instructions to them were and that those who came out and spoke before, such as Gudani, could "be revisited and be given the opportunity to reveal everything that they knew."
Aquino said there were many others who would like to participate and contribute what they knew about the elections in 2004.
"But let me repeat, if we are to run after the (alleged cheaters) in the 2004 elections, that line is no longer open, the filing (of cases) under the Omnibus Election Code," Aquino said.
Aquino said this was the reason why other violations were being reviewed.
"For instance, were there officials who ordered his men to commit something illegal? If there is evidence, we will file a case," Aquino said.
"There might also be violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. There are many potentials that can be considered but those election-related would no longer be part of them," he said.
Aquino said he asked Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and the Department of National Defense to examine the new leads.
He said they gave out copies of the annexes to several senators and congressmen who requested for the report.
De Lima, who was at the Palace to attend the same ceremony, said "there could be other charges like violations of the Revised Penal Code or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act."
"If there are active military officers or personnel whose participation in the election fraud in 2004 and 2007 would be established, the Articles of War could also be used," De Lima said.
Meanwhile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has ordered an investigation into the alleged break-in that some police personnel have admitted to staging at the Batasan premises in early 2005.
He told reporters yesterday that he has given the House committee on suffrage and electoral reform chaired by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. the go-signal to conduct the inquiry. – With Jaime Laude, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe
P-Noy: DBP lawyer a potential witness on behest loans (The Philippine Star) Updated August 04, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) lawyer Benjamin Pinpin could have been a potential witness on behest loans contracted by the previous administration, President Aquino revealed yesterday.
Aquino made the statement as he called on Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima to make a detailed report on the death of Pinpin.
Police yesterday announced that Pinpin, legal officer of the DBP, had committed suicide.
"I understand that the guy who committed suicide was one of the lead witnesses, who actually unearthed this. He was kind of vital (as a witness)," Aquino told reporters.
Aquino expressed his condolences to the family and called for a deeper investigation into what could have driven Pinpin to take his own life.
"I am curious, like everybody else, why he had taken his life. I am anticipating the report of Secretary Purisima to further clarify what the process is in unearthing what has happened in DBP in the previous board," he said.
"There is a company, there are allegations of behest loans, questionable practices that were done previously," he added.
Aquino said he would allow the DBP board to conduct its own investigation with regard to loans that were apparently granted to allies of the past administration.
Police investigators led by Las Piñas Senior Superintendent Romulo Sapitula said the 43-year-old Pinpin apparently committed suicide.
It was on Monday that Pinpin was last seen alive by his children when he drove them to school, he said.
Pinpin hugged and embraced his son and daughter after they alighted from the vehicle, not something he usually did before reporting to work as legal officer of the DBP, he said.
"The victim embraced his two children tightly and without saying a word, boarded again his pickup and that was the last time family members saw him alive,"
Pinpin was found dead at the Eurotel Hotel in Las Piñas with a nylon cord tied around his neck.
Sapitula said initial report of the Scene of the Crime Operation office (SOCO) confirmed Pinpin committed suicide.
He said the nylon cord around his neck had snapped because of the weight of the victim.
Sapitula said investigators later found sealed envelopes at the house that were addressed to his wife Amelia, son, and mother, which turned out to be suicide notes.
He said the police investigation has ruled out foul play and declared the case a suicide.
On Monday, Pinpin drove his Nissan truck to take his children from school.
"The victim usually stays in the driver seat after his children alighted but on Monday he did an unusual act, he got out and embraced his two children for a while then he got back and sped away," Sapitula said.
On Monday night, the family reported to the police that Pinpin was missing since he did not show up to fetch his children from school.
The DBP also initiated a search for Pinpin when his family reported him missing since Monday night.
A distraught Amelia later saw a sealed envelope at the house that turned out to be her husband's last message to her.
Sapitula said a citywide search for the Nissan pickup was launched and on Tuesday, the victim was traced to a hotel along Zapote road.
Sapitula said hotel employees knocked at the room where Pinpin had checked in. When nobody answered, they forced open the door and found the lawyer lifeless.
Police said Pinpin reported for work late Monday at the DBP after dropping off his two children at school. He never returned home.
Investigators later revealed a clutch bag was found at his home, which contained the three suicide notes.
A large number of documents related to his work at the DBP were also recovered in his home.
Sources revealed the DBP management has been discreetly conducting an investigation on what could have caused Pinpin to commit suicide. – Delon Porcalla, Perseus Echeminada
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