DENR chief plays down graft charges

Ridiculous and absurd.

This was how Secretary Elisea Gozun of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) described the graft charges she is now facing before the Ombudsman.

Gozun said the claim of a certain Lauro Paglinawan that she has amassed questionable wealth as a result of her appointment as DENR chief was also baseless.

The Ombudsman earlier endorsed an investigation on Gozun and her husband’s allegedly unexplained wealth since she assumed the DENR post in December 2002.

"That is ridiculous. I was appointed as DENR secretary on Dec. 11, 2002 and assumed the duties and functions of the office two days later on Dec. 13, 2002. This incontrovertible fact alone belies the accusations leveled against me by Paglinawan," said Gozun in a statement.

Gozun said that there was nothing illegal about the increase in her conjugal assets as her husband received P18 million in cash and a vehicle in separation benefits when he was involuntarily separated on Oct. 16, 2002 as senior vice president of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (PASAR) due to change in management.

According to Gozun, this clearly explains that the increase in their assets occurred before she joined the government, contrary to malicious imputations. She added that the increase in their assets for 2002 is duly reflected in their income tax return for 2002.

In a two-page order, Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo forwarded Paglinawan’s complaint to the Fact-Finding and Intelligence Bureau (FFIB) "for appropriate investigation, considering the seriousness of the allegations."

Paglinawan stated in his single-page complaint that "the Ombudsman should investigate the source of wealth of Gozun and her husband especially the highly suspicious increase in their cash position by more than P20 million."

"The increase is not only suspicious as it is highly questionable, the only logical explanation is that Gozun was able to receive so much as a result of her appointment," Paglinawan theorized. In his complaint, Paglinawan questioned the sudden increase in the assets of Gozun and her husband from P13.8 million in 2001 to P35 million in 2002. — Mike Frialde