Laurel faces Expo scam raps

Former President Fidel Ramos has won one round in the probe on the 1998 Centennial Expo scam, but the project’s chairman, former Vice President Salvador Laurel, faces graft charges for irregularities.

The Office of the Ombudsman recommended yesterday the filing of charges against Laurel, former chairman of the National Centennial Commission (NCC), in connection with the construction of the Freedom Ring, the centerpiece of the P9.6-billion Centennial Expo in Pampanga.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said graft probers discovered that Laurel awarded the contract for the construction of the Freedom Ring to developer Asia Construction Development Authority (Asiakonstruct) without the benefit of a public bidding. Laurel likewise approved a higher budget without the President’s nod, he said.

The Freedom Ring, an amphitheater that can accommodate 35,000 persons, was originally meant to be built on a 2.8-hectare lot but modifications called for a larger construction area of nine hectares.

Desierto excluded the name of Mr. Ramos in the Freedom Ring probe because the former Chief Executive had refused to upgrade the budget from P280 million to P1.165 billion.

Two other respondents – Expocorp president Teodoro Peña and Edgardo Angeles of Asiakonstruct – were also excluded in the Freedom Ring probe.

"The buck stops at Laurel. The President had refused to increase the budget, twice rejecting the proposal by stating in a marginal note ‘Let’s stick to the original budget. We need the money for other projects,’" Desierto said.

The Ombudsman clarified, however, that his office is still investigating other aspects of the scam, including the alleged unlawful realignment of funds and overpricing, in which the former President’s name is included.

"We have cleared Mr. Ramos only in this (Freedom Ring) aspect. The evidence submitted to us is still incomplete," Desierto said in anticipation of possible criticism for clearing Mr. Ramos, a political benefactor.

The Ombudsman insisted he was not protecting anyone as alleged by his critics.

"I challenge them to produce evidence. We do not care who gets hurt here," Desierto said.

The filing of graft charges against Laurel, however, will have to be deferred until the Supreme Court resolves a petition filed by the respondent on Oct. 27.

Desierto said Laurel had sought to stop the probe on the ground that he is not covered by Ombudsman rules, being "a private person in his former capacity as NCC chairman."

"The filing of information is held in abeyance until the Honorable Court rules on the question of jurisdiction," the Ombudsman stated in the resolution that recommended the filing of charges.

The Ombudsman’s Fact-Finding and Intelligence Bureau said Laurel was primarily responsible "for all decisions and actions made in connection with the Freedom Ring project."

The probers claimed the respondent compromised the secrecy of the sealed bids by prematurely opening the same in his law office and awarding the project to Asiakonstruct in December 1996 "without the required technical and financial evaluation of the bids."