Militant solons, farmers prepare proof of Ombudsman's alleged 'negligence'

A day before formal impeachment proceedings resume, militant lawmakers and farmers began preparing proofs of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez's alleged "negligence of duty" on Monday. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) secretary-general Danilo Ramos, one of the complainants in the impeachment cases against Gutierrez, said his group will be ready to prove the Ombudsman’s alleged negligence of duty when the hearings resume on Tuesday. “Handa po kaming patunayan na si Ombudsperson Gutierrez ay balakid sa pagkakamit ng hustisya sa mga magsasaka. Nararapat lamang na mawala siya sa kanyang puwesto," he said in a press briefing on Monday. Ramos, one of the supposed beneficiaries of the controversy-ridden P728 million fertilizer fund, presented a certification from the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court dated February 25 showing that “no criminal or civil case has been filed" against the former agriculture officials that his group accused of plunder nearly seven years ago. “Despite farmers’ clamor for justice and the Senate’s repeated findings of criminal culpability and recommendations to file charges, the Ombudsman let the fertilizer fund scam case walk through a seemingly malicious legal process that gave legal leeway to plunderers," he said. In 2004, Ramos’ group filed before the Office of the Ombudsman a plunder case against former agriculture secretary Luis “Cito" Lorenzo and undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc" Bolante for allegedly using the fertilizers funds to bankroll the campaign of Arroyo administration candidates during the 2004 national polls. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee also recommended in 2009 the filing of plunder charges against several agriculture officials, led by Bolante, because of the fertilizer fund scam. A fact-finding team has been formed to act on the complaint of the farmers’ group, but the Ombudsman has yet to determine if there is probable cause to indict the agriculture officials up to this day, according to Ramos. The peasant group leader also urged Gutierrez to resign from her post if she really wants justice for the farmers who were affected by the fertilizer fund scam. “Kung may natitira pa siyang delicadeza, dapat ay magbitiw na siya bilang Ombudsperson. Kung hindi, mahalaga na magtagumpay ang impeachment case laban sa kanya," he said. The House justice committee voted last week to resume the impeachment proceedings against Gutierrez after the Supreme Court junked the Ombudsman’s petition to stop the hearings that can possibly remove her from her post. ‘Keeper of the gate of corruption’ Gabriela Women’s party-list Rep. Emerenciana de Jesus, one of the endorsers of the impeachment complaints against Gutierrez at the House of Representatives, meanwhile accused the Ombudsman of being “a keeper of the gate of corruption." “Habang nananatili sa pwesto si Merceditas Gutierrez, ibayong insult ang dinaranas ng naghihira nating mamamayan dahil sa patuloy na pagharang niya sa mga kasong inihahain laban sa mga nandambong sa pamahalaan," she said in a statement issued on Monday. She added impeaching Gutierrez will “open the gate and usher the corrupt powers-that-be into the halls of justice." Meanwhile, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casino, another endorser of the impeachment case against the Ombudsman, warned Gutierrez of more “damning" evidence of her inaction that will come out during the proceedings. “This certification from the Sandiganbayan is damning evidence of the Ombudsman’s betrayal of public trust. More testimonies will be revealed during the hearings," he said. – VVP, GMA News