Erroneous assessment

MANILA, Philippines - I refer to your banner story in today’s issue, April 28, 2011, of Philippine STAR entitled “GMA Camp: Plunder Case Full of Holes.” The story bylined by your Mr. Paolo Romero attributes certain statements to Rep. Danilo Suarez, a highly publicized stooge and crony of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA).

My initial reaction was to disregard Suarez’s statements coming as they do from the perspective of a (non-lawyer), political apologist and defender of GMA. However, my silence on his statements may not only be misconstrued as acceptance of his clearly erroneous assessment of the plunder charge against GMA but would either confuse or mislead the reading public.  

For the information of Suarez, the distribution of PhilHealth cards becomes plunder because GMA used money belonging to the OFWs for her political campaign. The amount involved is not just P50 million but P540 million. He says there is no connection from public to private funds in the charge. Suarez has not even read the Affidavit Complaint, yet, armed with nothing but the courage of stupidity, he ventures to denigrate the seriousness of the plunder charge.

Suarez should also be reminded that using OFW funds to buy new vehicles for use of the diplomatic corps in the Middle East, is plunder; the use of OFW funds for refurbishing and beautifying diplomatic posts in the Middle East, is plunder; the use of OFW funds to contribute to the war efforts of the United States of America in Iraq, is plunder. Using OFW funds for political campaign is plunder. The OFW funds are trust funds managed and administered by the government through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration as trustee. It is an obvious breach of their fiduciary duty as trustees when they diverted these funds for the purposes I already mentioned.

Suarez should disabuse his mind of hearsay information that I cast a moist eye on the Department of Justice. I never did. I have no record of ever applying or positioning myself for any appointive public office. I am impelled solely by my sense of outrage over the failure of institutions to dispense justice and right wrongs. This was the same motivation that led me to file all other public interest cases these past 35 years covering the administrations of Marcos, Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo. It would do well for Suarez’s information to request a lawyer friend to look into all these cases that I have filed as taxpayer/citizen, most of which were sustained by the Supreme Court.