Supreme Court stops Desierto from filing charges vs Laurel

The Supreme Court has ordered Ombudsman Aniano Desierto to temporarily stop the filing of graft charges against former Vice President Salvador "Doy" Laurel in connection with the alleged multibillion-peso Centennial Expo scam.

The High Court issued the temporary restraining order after Laurel, former chairman of the National Centennial Commission (NCC), posted a P10,000 cash bond.

The tribunal noted the "certification" issued by its cash collection and disbursement division and approved the cash bond.

Last December, Desierto recommended the filing of graft charges against Laurel but opted not to turn over the evidence to the Sandiganbayan in deference to the High Court, after Laurel sought the tribunal’s help in October last year.

Desierto said the case was shelved because Laurel sought to stop the probe, arguing that he, as "a private person in his former capacity as NCC chairman," is not under the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Desierto has cleared Expocorp president Teodoro Peña of charges in the alleged Centennial Expo scam. Edgardo Angeles of Asia Construction, on the other hand, was excluded by the probe panel.

Laurel was held liable for alleged violation of the anti-graft law (Republic Act 3019) for supposed irregularities involving the P1.165-billion Freedom Ring project, a component of the P9.6-billion Centennial Expo.

Graft probers Mary Ann Corpus-Mañalac, Emma Suarez and Maria Linda Llagas-Vicente stated in their findings that Laurel awarded the Freedom Ring project to Asia Construction Development Authority allegedly without the benefit of a public bidding.

They added that Laurel "prematurely" issued a notice to proceed with the construction in December 1996 when the contract was signed four months later — in April 1997.

The 50 percent downpayment, which included the 10 percent "contingency fund" and the remaining 40 percent to be released in four tranches, was in gross violation of the 15-percent rule of the Commission on Audit and Presidential Decree 1594, they added.

"There was manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence on the part of public respondents manifested by their failure to abide by the rules and regulations on public bidding," the investigators said.

Desierto said Laurel "compromised the secrecy of the sealed bids by prematurely opening (them) in his law office" and awarded the project to Asiakonstruct in December 1996 without the required "technical and financial evaluation of the bids."

The probers claimed Laurel was "primarily responsible for all decisions and actions made in connection with the Freedom Ring project."

Desierto excluded former President Fidel Ramos from the Ombudsman’s preliminary investigation last February because he (Ramos) refused to upgrade the Freedom Ring’s budget from P280 million to P1.165 billion, as Laurel had recommended.

"He (Ramos) refused to increase the budget. He even didn’t want the increase to be done because he twice rejected the proposal (in January and February 1997) to upgrade the budget by stating in a marginal note ‘Let’s stick to original budget. We need BCDA money for other projects’," Desierto said.

"The buck stops at Laurel. He approved the budget even without the approval of former President Ramos," he said.

The Freedom Ring, an amphitheater which was supposed to accommodate 35,000 people on a 2.8-hectare lot, turned out to have an area of "nine hectares" and cost the government P1.165 billion.