PCGG welcomes SC ruling requiring officials to appear before Senate probes

From defiance to acceptance. That’s how two commissioners of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) hope to deal with future Senate summons in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling rejecting their claims of immunity from legislative investigations.

"I have always been an advocate of transparency and accountability. The Supreme Court decision ordering us to testify before the Senate is a golden opportunity for me to clarify my non-involvement in any of the alleged dissipations contained in the Senate Resolution No. 455. The alleged dissipations happened long before my appointment as PCGG commissioner,’’ Nicasio Conti said in a statement.

A colleague, Narciso Nario, raised the same view but said they might seek a reconsideration of SC’s decision. Chairman Camilo Sabio and commissioners Ricardo Abcede and Tereso Javier were unavailable for comment.

But tougher times await the officials as Sen. Richard Gordon wants to see their "report card’’ by seeking an expansion of the Senate probe to include all institutions in which PCGG has interests.

"Everybody knows here that the PCGG has been here for the last 20 years and it’s time they show their report card to the public," Gordon, chairman of the Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises, said.

"In the interest of transparency, I would like them now to expand on every company that they have taken over and make a report — where they made money for the government and where they lost money. And perhaps in the process we’ll find out who made money for themselves," Gordon said.

The SC on Tuesday ruled there was legal basis for the Senate to summon PCGG officials and order their arrest for failure to show up in its hearings.

"Of crucial importance and urgency is the need to look into instances of the dissipation of assets of the satellite companies. When did the dissipation begin? Who were the officials involved when the perfidy (took) place?" Conti said.

Conti recommended last year an independent due diligence audit on Philippine Overseas Telecommunications Corp. (POTC), Philippine Communication Satellite (Philcomsat), and PHC based on reported dissipation of assets and properties of the firms.

Conti emphasized the need for an "honest-to-goodness inquiry" to include everyone who had served PCGG during the period when the alleged irregularities occurred.

"Let the axe fall where it should, sparing no one in the process," Conti said.

He said that with the issue of PCGG immunity from legislative probes now resolved, the agency can now move on to pursue its institutional mandate.

Before his appointment to PCGG, Conti headed the Transparency Group under the Office of the President. It was the agency that jump-started the lifestyle check program of the government. He is the author of "To Serve With Honor,’’ a primer against corruption in the government.

Meanwhile, in a separate interview with reporters, Nario said they had no choice but to attend Senate investigations in the future.

"We respect that (SC decision). If that is the decision of the Supreme Court then we will respect that," said Nario, PCGG’s commissioner for legal affairs and a former Sandiganbayan justice.

But he stressed they might seek a reconsideration of the SC ruling.

"We will review the case with the Office of the Solicitor General. He (Eduardo Antonio Nachura) is our lawyer. We will look at the decision. If there are possible grounds for the filing of a motion for reconsideration then we will. The High Court is the arbiter of the law," Nario said.

"We are going to testify if the Senate calls upon us. I for one have nothing to hide," he said.

Gordon emphasized the Senate was not in a hurry to re-impose its arrest order especially on the PCGG officials who went into hiding — at least until the resumption of Congress session on Nov. 6. — Sandy Araneta, Christina Mendez