Court of Appeals defers ruling on Neri's case

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) deferred yesterday its ruling on the petition of Social Security System (SSS) president Romulo Neri seeking to stop the implementation of the six-month suspension order of the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with his role in the canceled $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract between the government and Chinese firm ZTE Corp.

After hearing arguments of both sides yesterday, the 10th division of the appellate court ordered respondents from the Ombudsman and the group Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) led by Rep. Teofisto Guingona III to submit their respective comments on the petition.

Neri’s lawyer Paul Lentejas clarified during the hearing that they were not questioning the suspension order of the Ombudsman but only the recent move of the anti-graft office asking the Office of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita to immediately implement the suspension of Neri pending the resolution of his appeal.

“We are not questioning the merit of the decision of the Ombudsman. We just want to stop immediate execution of the order,” he explained.

Although Lentejas admitted in open court that Ermita has declared that the suspension would not be implemented pending appeal at the Ombudsman, he argued that a temporary restraining order from the CA is still necessary because of the possibility of Ermita resigning to join next year’s elections that may pave the way for the implementation of the order.

But counsels for CCM and the Ombudsman objected, arguing that Neri’s move to seek relief from the CA was clearly forum shopping.

CCM lawyer Harry Roque Jr. said asking for a TRO from the CA would preempt the resolution of the Ombudsman on Neri’s pending motion for reconsideration.

He also argued that the admitted refusal of Ermita to implement the suspension order only shows that there is no urgency in granting relief.

Roque told reporters that they plan to sue Secretary Ermita before the Ombudsman for disregarding the suspension order issued against Neri.

CA justices grilled Ombudsman’s lawyer Maribeth Padios after the Ombudsman failed to resolve the appeal of Neri that was filed last Sept. 1 considering that under the rules, resolution of motion for reconsideration should be done within five days only.

Padios replied: “I can’t comment on that, your honor, because there’s a separate panel handling the case.”

Associate Justices Pampio Abarintos, Juan Enriquez Jr. and Francisco Acosta are handling Neri’s appeal that accused the Ombudsman of abusing its discretion when it pushed for his suspension even pending resolution of his appeal.

During the Senate inquiry last year, Neri alleged that former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. offered him a P200-million bribe when he was still the head of National Economic and Development Authority that reviewed the NBN deal. But he refused to divulge information about his conversation with President Arroyo regarding the bribe offer on the ZTE contract.

Police release sketches of Neri attackers

Police investigators released yesterday the sketches of four of the suspects that apparently belonged to a well-funded gang that shot at the house of Neri last Friday in Quezon City.

Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego, director of the Quezon City Police District, said the sketches made by a police artist based on descriptions of eye witnesses included the suspect who commandeered the two vans used as getaway vehicles by the suspects, the overseer of the gang’s hideout where the driver of one of the carjacked vans was held, and the person who rented a warehouse in Quezon City.

The two carjacked Hyundai vans were used by the armed men who shot at Neri’s house on Palali Street in Barangay Siena just before 9 a.m. on Friday while the official was preparing to go to work.

Investigators said the armed men fled and abandoned the two vans along a street a few blocks away from Neri’s house and transferred to an L300 van and a Hi-Ace van.

QCPD Intelligence Division head Superintendent Nestor Abalos said the suspects were allegedly part of a well-funded operation to terrorize Neri since the gang even made a down payment of P105,000 to rent the warehouse that was turned into a hideout in Barangay Manresa.

“We don’t know yet what the real purpose was for renting the warehouse. (But based on the money spent just for it, we can say that) the group was well-funded or at least they’re trying to create an impression that they were well-funded,” Abalos told reporters in an interview.

Chief Inspector Benjamin Elenzano, deputy head of the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said one of the suspects was identified based on the artist’s sketch as a certain Robert Romo, who rented the warehouse where the driver of a maroon Hyundai van from Pampanga was brought after the vehicle was carjacked. 

Elenzano noted that Romo is dark, of medium build, and about 5’6” in height and in his early 30s.

The driver of the carjacked van also described one of the two men as being about 5’5” in height, with fair complexion, medium build, and about 30 years old.

The driver whose identity is being withheld, said the suspects hitched a ride with him from Pampanga and later carjacked the vehicle at around 5 a.m. in La Loma, Quezon City.

He said the suspects blindfolded him and brought him to the warehouse. He managed to escape at about 2 p.m. when the suspects left him alone.   – With Reinir Padua