Deputy Ombudsman: I'll do everything vs dismissal order

(Updated 2:58 p.m.) Breaking his silence for the first time since the Office of the President ordered his dismissal, embattled Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzalez III on Tuesday said his conscience is clear and he will prove that he did not delay the resolution of the case of slain policeman Rolando Mendoza. Mendoza hijacked a bus with tourists from Hong Kong on August 23 last year to protest against delay of the Office of the Ombudsman in resolving his case. "Ako po ay gagawa lahat ng legal na kaparaanan pagka’t naniniwala ako na malinis ang konsensya ko at hindi ako guilty sa mga akusasyon sa akin (I will use all legal means because I believe my conscience is clear and I am not guilty of the accusations against me)," Gonzalez said in a statement. "Nais ko lamang pong ituwid na hindi nagtagal ang kaso ni Capt. Rolando Mendoza at ang kanyang Motion for Reconsideration sa amin. Ito ay ginawan namin ng aksyon ayon sa proceso ng aming opisina. At ito ay patutunayan namin sa husgado," he added. (I just want to make it clear that we did not sit on Capt. Rolando Mendoza's case and motion for reconsideration. We acted on these according to our office's processes, and we will prove this in court.) Gonzalez also denied extorting P150,000 from Mendoza at the height of the hostage crisis in Manila last year. Last year, assistant negotiator Romeo Salvador testified that he heard an irate Mendoza berating Gonzalez on the phone because the deputy Ombudsman allegedly demanded P150,000 in exchange for the resolution of his (Mendoza's) case. Salvador testified that he overheard Mendoza tell Gonzalez: "P.I. mo, humihingi ka pa ng P150,000 para sa kaso ko, kung may mamamatay dito kasalanan mo lahat! (You S.O.B., you are asking for P150,000 for my case, if anyone dies here it’s all your fault!)" However, Gonzalez on Tuesday said; "Hindi rin po totoo na dinelay ko ang kaso para makahingi ng P150,000 kay Mendoza. Matagal ko na pong hinihiling sa kanila na sabihin nila kung sino ang kausap nila tungkol sa P150,000. Subalit wala po silang masabi." (It's not true that I delayed the case so I can demand P150,000 from Mendoza. I've been asking them to divulge whom they discussed the P150,000 with. But they haven't said anything.) He added that authorities did a lifestyle check on him, but such check did not yield evidence that he received payoffs. Palace order On Friday last week, Malacañang announced the dismissal of Gonzalez for mishandling Mendoza's case. Mendoza was killed by policemen after shooting dead eight Hong Kong tourists in the 11-hour standoff on August 23 last year. But Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez said she will not enforce Malacañang's order because the matter of her deputy’s culpability is "legally final and closed." Gutierrez said an internal investigation by her office had already found Gonzalez not culpable for the deadly hostage-taking crisis in Manila’s Luneta park. In his statement on Tuesday, Gonzalez said Malacañang scheduled a hearing last February 8, 2011 but as early as February 4, a news article already came out about his imminent dismissal. Gonzalez said he filed with the Palace his objection to the proceedings, where he questioned why he had to attend the proceedings when there was already a decision. On Tuesday, Malacañang maintained that Gonzalez was given due process when his alleged mishandling of the Aug. 2010 hostage-taking incident was being investigated. “I think it’s Deputy Ombudsman Gonzalez who prejudged the process. There was an ample time for him to answer, to give his response which he did not do," said Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. Carandang said they had expected Gonzalez to challenge their decision. “These people have to be accountable to somebody and I guess this will be challenged, we expect it to be challenged but we try to make them accountable," he said. — with Amita O. Legaspi/RSJ/LBG/VVP/KBK, GMA News