Desierto: Laurel plea impressed with merit

It is a meritocracy, after all.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto found former Vice President Salvador Laurel’s motion to submit an "extended counter-affidavit" on the case of graft charges filed against him over the Philippine Centennial Exposition in Pampanga "impressed with merit," Laurel said yesterday.

Laurel detailed and replied to the accusations leveled against him "point by point" in his motion to file an extended counter affidavit which he filed before the Office of the Ombudsman on July 5.

Laurel’s involvement in the controversy over the Centennial Expo scam stemmed from his chairmanship of the National Centennial Commission and his alleged involvement in the overpricing of the construction value of the Freedom Ring in Clark Field.

The preliminary investigation into the extent of Laurel’s involvement in the project is being conducted by Assistant Ombudsman Hilario Apostol.

Desierto said Apostol found probable cause to file a graft case against Laurel for the overpricing of the Freedom Ring contract from P248 million to P1.2 billion: "The actual contract price is P248 million, but Laurel allegedly made it P1.2 billion. That is why Ramos objected to the project. It was also found out by the panel that there was no bidding conducted and, in fifteen minutes’ time, Laurel awarded it to the private contractor."

Laurel, he said, also issued a notice to proceed with the construction of the Freedom Ring three months before the contract was executed by contractor Asiakonstrukt: "Laurel also ordered the first payment amounting to P300 million and released the money to Asiakonstrukt."

In a press statement, however, Laurel said: "If anybody suffered any ‘undue injury’ because the Freedom Ring was completely finished and actually used during the (1998) centennial celebrations, it was the contractor who up to now has not been paid for the construction job. Asiakonstrukt still has receivables of some P1 billion."

Laurel submitted 200 pages of documents in support of his counter-affidavit and branded the charges filed against him were "politically motivated. It was initiated by a disgraced former president who is now in jail facing plunder and graft charges."

Meanwhile, Desierto said former President Fidel Ramos is not yet off the hook regarding the graft charges filed against the former Chief Executive in connection with the Centennial Expo scam.

Desierto said his office is still awaiting the formal report of the Commission on Audit, which will be used as a basis for determining whether Ramos should be charged for illegally diverting funds from various government agencies to the controversial Centennial Expo project amounting to an estimated P3.8 billion from 1996 to 1997.

Desierto formally sent his request to the COA over a year ago for the Centennial Expo audit report regarding the diversion of government funds to the project: "But the COA has yet to submit its reports. We made the request during the time of former President (Joseph) Estrada. We would like to know if the funds of various government agencies is savings or not. If it is not savings, then that would be the time we could file charges against former President Ramos."

Should this be the case, Desierto added, then Ramos could be liable for criminal charges for violation of Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code.

Under the General Appropriations (GAA), Desierto said, the funds of government agencies can be legally diverted to other projects only if they come from the agencies’ savings. — Jose Rodel Clapano