Ombudsman pursues graft case vs. Tupas’ dad

(Updated 9:20 p.m.) The Office of the Ombudsman has decided to pursue a graft case against the father of Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., who described the move as “suspect" since he heads the House committee of justice currently handling the impeachment case against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. In a resolution dated August 2, 2010 but signed only last Wednesday, the Ombudsman junked a motion for reconsideration filed by former Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. asking the office to reverse an earlier ruling, which found probable cause to file graft charges against him. The 10-page resolution, signed by Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro last Wednesday, said the older Tupas’ motion was denied “due to lack of merit." The former governor’s graft case stemmed from his allegedly anomalous approval of a mining permit for construction materials to be used for an airport even though the supplier, who is allegedly associated with his daughter-in-law, supposedly did not have technical capability to handle such a project. In April last year, the Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to file criminal charges against then Gov. Tupas for violation of Section 3 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019). The older Tupas filed a motion for reconsideration in May 2010 arguing that he did not “unilaterally" sign the mining permit, but the Office of the Ombudsman said in its resolution that “there is no doubt that he was the one who issued the permit." Rep. Tupas, for his part, said the Ombudsman’s decision came at a “suspect" time, especially now that the House panel he chairs is in the midst of clarificatory hearings on two impeachment complaints filed against Gutierrez. “As much as possible, I don’t want to muddle the case, pero bakit ngayon lang inilabas ito, ngayong nagkakaroon na ng hearing laban sa Ombudsman [but why did this come out only now, now that we are conducting hearings against the Ombudsman]?" he told GMA News in a phone interview. The younger Tupas added that the Ombudsman’s move to pursue the case against his father before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court might create a “pattern" of prosecuting relatives or allies of House members involved in the impeachment case. “Ang significance nito, gagamitin ng Ombudsman ang mga kaso ng mga relatives o kaalyado ng congressmen because of what is happening now. Baka gamitin sa hindi maganda," he said. (The significance of this move is that the Ombudsman might use the cases against congressmen’s relatives or allies, because of what is happening now. The cases might be used for ulterior aims.) Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus, however, refuted Rep. Tupas’ claim, saying that it was just “coincidence" that the motion filed by the former governor was dismissed while impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Gutierrez were being held at the lower chamber. “This is definitely not ganti [a vengeful act]. We studied this very well and the grounds for the motion for reconsideration was evaluated by the reviewing party," De Jesus said in a separate phone interview. He added that Gutierrez has already inhibited herself from the case and let Casimiro pursue the graft charges against ex-Gov. Tupas.—JV, GMA News