PAGC probe on DND chief done in 60 days

The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) yesterday vowed to finish within two months its probe into the allegations that Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes owns a mansion worth P10 million.

PAGC Chairman Dario Rama said the three-member commission has 60 days to conclude its investigation and recommend the appropriate charges to be filed against Reyes, or exonerate him if he is able to justify the acquisition of the mansion.

"We will exercise full independence (in conducting the probe)," Rama said. "PAGC has always been independent, because that’s what the President (Arroyo) wants."

PAGC is under the Office of the President and is tasked to investigate complaints against presidential appointees and recommend administrative sanctions or their indictment. PAGC’s recommendations are subject to the approval of Malacañang.

Rama said the probe will begin as soon as he returns to Manila.

The commission will have to convene en banc — including commissioners Teresita Baltazar and Cesar Buenaflor — Rama said. "We have 60 days (in which) to wrap up the investigation."

He said Reyes’ case is the first have they handled with military undertones, though they have investigated similar cases, including the graft complaints against former education secretary Raul Roco and former justice secretary Hernando Perez.

In Reyes’ statement of assets and liabilities (SAL), he declared his total assets as P4.8 million. He also said the mansion at the AFP Officers’ Village in Taguig was built with the help of a bank loan.

As an official of the President’s official family, he should be getting a salary not exceeding P50,000 a month.

Baltazar lauded Reyes for his transparency. "Kahanga-hanga (Praiseworthy)," was how Baltazar described Reyes. "I admire him for complying at once and setting (a) good example (to) others."

Reyes said he was able to secure part of a P10-million loan from Philippine Savings Bank (PS Bank), which enabled him to buy a lot and finance the construction of his house.

According to Reyes, he bought a 400 square-meter lot in Fort Bonifacio for P15,000 in 1980. The lot now has a market value of P5 million.