Ligot's wife confined in hospital, won't attend Senate probe

(Updated 10:27 a.m.) The wife of former military comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot has been confined in a hospital and will not be able to attend the resumption of the Senate's inquiry into the alleged corruption in the military, her lawyer said Thursday. In a letter to Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Teofisto Guingona III, lawyer Rafael Zialcita said Erlinda Ligot is confined at the Veteran's Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City because of "headaches, abdominal pains, and other aches." "She is presently undergoing various tests," said Zialcita. Because of this, he said Lt. Gen. Ligot requests that his wife be excused from attending Thursday's hearing. However, the lawyer noted that Mrs. Ligot maintains that she has no knowledge of the issues being hurled against her. "We would like to reiterate Mrs. Ligot's statement that at any rate, she has nothing to contribute to the present investigation of this honorable committee other than what she had stated in her previous letter dated 17 February 2011," he said. Aside from Mrs. Ligot, former Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) auditor Divina Cabrera, former AFP chiefs of staff Roy Cimatu and Diomedio Villanueva also excused themselves from the Senate inquiry. Cabrera and Cimatu submitted medical certificates complaining of hypertension and osteoarthritis, respectively. Villanueva, on the other hand, cited the need for more time for mourning over the loss of a loved one. Jinggoy to grill Mrs. Ligot Senate President Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada earlier said that he is all set to question Mrs. Ligot on how she amassed more than P700 million and pricey realty purchases in the United States during the stint of her husband in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Jacinto Ligot was the predecessor of Carlos Garcia, who is also accused of amassing more than P300 million in state funds while he was still in service. Estrada said they sent the Senate doctor early Thursday to check up on Mrs. Ligot and found that she is indeed confined at the VMMCl. He said initial findings showed that she was not diabetic, not suffering from hypertension, and her CT scan results were normal. But he said that she is still scheduled for more tests until Friday. Because of this, he asked the blue ribbon committee if they can conduct the hearing at the hospital once Mrs. Ligot's doctors give a go signal. Guingona said they will have to wait for the opinion of the doctors. Pattern? But Guingona sees a pattern in the absences of those invited to the inquiry. "Biglang nagkakasakit talaga at biglang nacoconfine. Lumang tugtugin na po yung iba (They suddenly get sick or get confined. This is an old trick)," he said during his opening statement on Thursday. He likewise said if those invited to hearing were indeed suffering from any illness, it would be "ribbonitis" or the fear of appearing before the Senate blue ribbon committee. Guingona said he will ask the Senate doctor to check the veracity of the medical condition of those who excused themselves from the inquiry. "This committee will not tolerate this practice," he said. Cabrera supposedly received 2 percent of converted military funds. On the other hand, Cimatu is accused of receiving P80 million in sendoff money from Garcia and Villanueva P160 million. They also supposedly received P5 million monthly while they were still in service. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News