DOJ bribery modus/ P70 M spilled out

There’s a Part 2 to the story that Dept. of Justice prosecutor John Resado received P1.6 million on Dec. 2, 2008. A high DOJ official will be exposed as having taken a separate P2.6 million two weeks later on Dec. 19.

Supposedly this was the modus operandi for the second bribery: On Dec. 19 the official ostensibly took out a loan of P2,642,187.23 from the Makati head office of a huge bank. Same day someone paid P2,644,438.92 for the loan, including fee and day interest of P2,251.70. It’s akin to the ZTE scam: someone “borrowed” the bribe money, leaving the Filipino people to repay it.

The dates are telling. Based on an anonymous tip to Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez, Dec. 2 was when two separate deposits of P800,000 each were made to Resado and wife in a joint account at Banco de Oro-Bacoor, Cavite. That was the day Resado’s resolution came out to drop the case of and free the three “Alabang boys” drug trafficking suspects. The document went to review Prosecutor Misael Ladaga, then to Senior Prosecutor Philip Kimpo, and lastly to Chief Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño who signed on Dec. 19. That day the papers landed on Gonzalez’s desk for automatic review, and at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to try to bail out the trio. Dec. 19 was also the PDEA Christmas party. Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino vividly remembers DOJ Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor’s call, pressuring him to release the suspects.

Resado had an alibi for the Dec. 2 bank transaction. He claimed at the House hearing Friday that it was he who had deposited only P800,000 at the Banco de Oro branch in SM North, Quezon City, for credit to their Bacoor account. That may explain the double entry of P800,000, but he refused to waive his right to bank secrecy to prove it.

Resado also claimed that PDEA lawyer Alvaro Lazaro had offered bribe to dismiss the case, but he declined. Not only congressmen but also fellow-prosecutors found the tale incredible. Why is Resado revealing it only in the third hearing? Why didn’t he tell the NBI that investigated (and on cue whitewashed) the earlier PDEA claim of bribery at the DOJ? Why didn’t he entrap Lazaro? Why didn’t he report it to his superiors Kimpo and Zuño? Why didn’t he inhibit from but instead dismiss the rap anyway? Resado couldn’t answer the questions satisfactorily, so his colleagues are contemplating withdrawing support.

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Thursday, Apr. 24, 2003, midweek, a good day to go . . . a-bribing. So the three constructors, each toting two paper bags, hopped into the elevator of a famous building in Legaspi Village, Makati. They alit at the 7th floor to meet with the influential spouse of a high government official. But, oops, wrong floor: the 7th was the HQ of the high official’s party, the spouse held office on the 8th. Instead of the lift again, they took the stairs up. Suddenly one of the bags tore, and out spilled several bundles of P1,000-bills, part of the total of P70 million, weighing approximately 70 kilos. The trio snickered at themselves as they hurriedly picked up the wads of money. Then they quickly turned serious in the presence of the powerful spouse.

The P70 million was but the initial “tong-pats”, 5 percent of the P1.4-billion fund for the EDSA Rehabilitation Project. The three constructors had promised to give the spouse a total of 10 percent, or P140 million, plus extra 5 percent “for the boys”. But they had this little problem. Then-Public Works Sec. Bayani Fernando was delaying project implementation. Reportedly upon assuming office four months earlier, he found the contract grossly overpriced, and was waiting for the constructors to trim it. But they couldn’t do so, the trio pleaded with the spouse, for they already had spent a lot, including the P70 million they had just brought him.

“That Bayani is crazy!” the spouse raised his voice. “But don’t worry, give me two or three days, he’ll be removed.”

Three days later, a Sunday, Malacañang was unusually busy. An announcement was made that Fernando supposedly had decided to give up the public works portfolio to concentrate on chairing the Metro Manila Development Authority.

The story is related to the recent suspension by the World Bank of three Filipino constructors for bid fixing in road projects worth $33 million, or almost P1.4 billion.

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Crisis at Customs goes on.

The other week Gloria Arroyo gave verbal instructions to remove Nicasio Radovan and reinstate Nestorio Gualberto as head of enforcement. Following procedure, the President must write a directive to the finance secretary, who in turn will draft an order to Customs chief Napoleon Morales to enforce Arroyo’s instructions.

 But no paper came from Number 1. So Morales took it upon himself to fire off a memo for Finance Sec. Gary Teves to confirm, which he did, the issuance of a Customs Personnel Order to remove Radovan.

Radovan refused to budge till weekend because it was Arroyo who had put him in the post, so it’s only she who can oust him. Morales was left pleading with him to heed the CPO first and complain to Malacañang later, to no avail.

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