Rob, graft raps vs ex-CDC head, 8 others dismissed

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed charges of robbery and graft and corruption which the head of a power utility company filed against a former president and chief executive officer and eight other officials of the state-run Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

The charges filed by Victor Santos, president and chief executive officer of the Clark Power Corp. (CPC), stemmed from the CDC’s forcible takeover of the power firm on July 10, 2003.

The takeover took place on the same day that the National Power Corp. (Napocor) was set to cut off power supply to the entire Clark special economic zone due to the CPC’s failure to pay power bills amounting to P45.38 million.

The CDC’s takeover of the CPC forestalled a power crisis after former CDC president Emmanuel Angeles ordered the immediate payment of dues to the Napocor, thus saving Clark investors from huge losses that could have arisen from a power shutdown, the Ombudsman said.

Santos claimed that the takeover was an offshoot of Angeles’ order terminating the contract between the CDC and the CPC.

He claimed that CDC personnel used force in taking over the CPC, "held hostage" the firm’s personnel for about three hours, and confiscated properties which were not returned.

He said the takeover led to losses which had amounted to some P2.5 million monthly since the takeover.

Aside from Angeles, who retired from the CDC only last March 16, the other respondents were CDC vice president Pepito Galang and department heads Rey Lazaro, Marissa Mandocdoc, Ponciano Perez, Edwin Paras, Manuel Pangilinan, Carmen Trinidad and Rommel Pangilinan.

In a 41-page decision, Donna Pascual, Ombudsman graft investigation and prosecution officer, said the charges lacked sufficient evidence.

The Ombudsman gave weight to Angeles’ counter-affidavit, saying that the CDC had repeatedly warned the CPC since July 19, 2001 on its failure to comply with its contractual obligations to provide efficient power supply to the Clark ecozone.

The Ombudsman said the CDC’s sudden takeover of the CPC could not be considered "unreasonable" because the CDC officials were "trying to prevent any act of sabotage by some people" on the power plant.

It added that the CPC’s monthly losses of about P2.5 million were of its "own making" due to its "failure to comply with its obligations" under its memorandum of agreement and lease agreement with the CDC.

The Ombudsman also belied the CPC’s claim that its personnel were "held hostage," saying they were just "politely requested to leave the premises."