PDAF lifestyle check to include relatives

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman will expand its investigation into the pork barrel scam to include lifestyle checks on the relatives of the respondents.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales told reporters after the 5th Integrity Lecture at the Asian Development Bank yesterday that lifestyle checks would be conducted to determine if family members of those tagged in the anomaly could also be held criminally liable.

She said she has tasked Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang to spearhead the expanded investigation.

Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile is unfazed by the ombudsman’s move, saying that the anti-graft court should be allowed to do its job.

“Trabaho ng gobyerno yun (That’s the job of government). So we will allow them… Let them do their job,” he said. “I am open to any lifestyle check or any kind of check.”

He, however, refused to discuss the issues related to the pork barrel scam, saying he would address them at the courtroom. “What I want is a forum where the questioning and answers are controlled and nobody can refuse to answer,” he said.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said he is also open to any lifestyle check, but expressed disappointment that even his family, including his eight-year-old daughter, has been dragged into the controversy. He decried the move as persecution and an abuse of their rights.

However, Morales said Estrada’s claim that even his youngest child is part of the investigation is “not true.”

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. said he has not received any information about any lifestyle checks conducted against him or any member of his family. He said he has nothing to hide, having properly filed his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth and income tax.

Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerard Mosquera earlier asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue to provide them with the copies of the income tax returns of Estrada, his wife Presentacion and their four children.

The lifestyle check came amid reports that the Sandiganbayan would elevate the plunder case to the courts and issue the warrants for the arrest of Estrada, Enrile and Revilla within the week.

Committee report

As this developed, three more senators – Cynthia Villar and siblings Alan and Pia Cayetano – have signed the Senate Blue Ribbon committee report recommending the filing of plunder charges against Enrile, Estrada and Revilla.

Senators Sergio Osmeña III, Francis Escudero, Antonio Trillanes IV, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Grace Poe, Aquilino Pimentel III, Loren Legarda, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Joseph Victor Ejercito earlier signed the report.

Blue Ribbon committee chairman Senator Teofisto Guingona III has not read out the report before plenary for approval as of yesterday.

Unwavering stand

Meanwhile, Poe and Pimentel lauded the Office of the Ombudsman for its unwavering stand against corruption and its triumphs in the battle against graft.

Pimentel said the “unparalleled magnitude” of the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scam makes it very timely to discuss graft and corruption problems in government.

Poe said the passage of the Freedom of Information bill would be a big help in fighting corruption as it will promote transparency and accountability.

She stressed the need for the public to have access to the government’s financial transactions and other documents, and the proposed law would be a strong deterrent against all forms of under-the-table transactions. – With Christina Mendez