Laurel answers Ombudsman on Expo raps

Reacting to news reports that charges will be filed against him this week, former Vice President Salvador Laurel announced that he filed an extended counter affidavit with the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday.

Laurel cited recent Supreme Court decisions declaring that private corporations and private citizens cannot be investigated by the Ombudsman or tried by the Sandiganbayan.

He pointed out that three out of four original respondents have already been absolved by Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, which automatically renders "untenable" any charge of conspiracy.

The case stemmed from Laurel’s alleged role in the overpricing of the project from an actual value of P248 million to P1.2 billion in his capacity as chairman of the National Centennial Commission (NCC).

The Freedom Ring was constructed from 1996 to 1997 as a center stage for the country’s observance of its centennial in 1998, with Asia Construction Development Corp. (Asia Konstruct) as the general contractor.

Laurel’s appeal came after the SC’s first division rejected last month his argument that he could not be held liable because he was not a public official.

The former Vice President had contended that he could not be held liable since he was not a government official, having received no salary as chairman of the NCC and chief executive officer of Expocorp., the contractor given the task of finishing the Expo project in Pampanga.

Laurel announced yesterday that he has also filed with the SC a motion to clarify the ruling of the First Division. In his motion, Laurel raised the question whether the 3-2 decision of the First Division in the Laurel vs. Desierto in effect modified or reversed its prior ruling in the Macalino vs. Sandiganbayan where it held in a unanimous 5-0 decision that neither the Ombudsman nor the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over private corporations like the Expocorp.

"The charges filed against me, former President Fidel Ramos, former Expocorp president Teodoro Peña and Asiakonstrukt president Eduardo Angeles by the disgraced and discredited Estrada administration through its so-called ‘Citizens’ Independent Committee’ were completely false and baseless. Three out of the four original respondents have already been absolved by the Office of the Ombudsman itself."

"The only reason the Ombudsman could not act on my case is because I questioned the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction over private corporations before the Supreme Court. It was a very basic issue which had to be first resolved," Laurel said.

"On Dec. 19, 1996, when Expocorp Board of Directors unanimously awarded the bid to Asiakonstrukt as the lowest bidder, it was undisputedly a private corporation."

Laurel said his case is the only one that remains unresolved by the Ombudsman because it was only he who questioned the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction before the Supreme Court, which thereafter issued a temporary restraining order to the Ombudsman.

"What we should not forget is that we were racing against time. We had barely eleven months to finish the construction in time for the celebration of the centennial – which was an intransferrable date and national pride was at stake."

Aside from Laurel, the members of the NCC included eleven Cabinet members, two Supreme Court justices, two senators, two congressmen, top businessmen and labor leaders, retired Supreme Court justices and representatives of women, youth, media and ethnic minorities.