Ombudsman on Ligot assets' turnover: 'Our efforts finally paid off'

Taking the cudgels for Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, her closest deputy and spokesperson on Saturday said their office welcomed the turnover of an embattled former military comptroller's $132,000 worth of supposed ill-gotten asset in the US, stressing that Gutierrez was partly responsible for its success. Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr. said it was Gutierrez who asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to get in touch with US authorities and facilitate the turnover of proceeds from a property of former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) comptroller retired Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot. “We are happy that the efforts of the Ombudsman, under the watch of Ombudsman Gutierrez, in having this check delivered to the Philippine government have paid off," de Jesus said. The property along 7102 Stanton Avenue, Buena Park, California is among the alleged ill-gotten wealth covered by the forfeiture case against the Ligots, filed by the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan in 2005. The property was registered under Ligot's wife, Erlinda Yambao Ligot. The Ligot couple are currently the subject of an on-going Senate inquiry on supposed fund irregularities in the AFP. Although the property has already been forfeited six years ago through administrative proceedings in 2005 with the help of then Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, it was only in 2009 – under Gutierrez's tenure – that the Philippines finally requested the US to return the amount. “When it came to the knowledge of the Office that the property has been sold by the US government, Ombudsman Gutierrez immediately wrote the Department of Justice to request for the return of the proceeds," de Jesus said. The proceeds were returned to the Philippine government by US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr. in the form of a check that was handed to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last Thursday. The forfeiture case against Ligot and his wife Erlinda Ligot was filed with the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan during the term of Ombudsman Marcelo in 2005. With the help of the US Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Marcelo confirmed the existence of Ligot's property in the US. On the same day of the turnover of the US check, the Sandiganbayan's Fourth Division froze some P135 million worth of selected properties of Ligot, his wife, their three children, and two other close relatives. The freeze order covered the following condominium units: - one in Burgundy Plaza on Katipunan Road, Quezon City, in the name of Yambao; - another in Essensa East Forbes Tower in Taguig City, registered to Erlinda Ligot; - a third unit in Paseo Parkview Tower 2, listed in the name of one of their children; and - a fourth one in Building MC-14 at the Pamayanang Diego Silang of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), in the name of Ligot himself. Ligot has already opposed the order on their properties, insisting that the court has not presented any finding that the said assets in the forfeiture case were disproportionate to their lawful income or were fraudulently acquired. The Ombudsman's statement on Saturday came weeks after lawmakers from the House of Representatives filed impeachment charges against Gutierrez before the Senate - which is set to try her in May - for alleged inaction in several high profile cases in the past. Gutierrez has repeatedly denied the allegations but critics claimed the Ombudsman has only been going after small-scale cases, and going easy on the "big fish" or more controversial ones involving high-profile public officials. [See: Ombudsman wins P55k graft case but loses P20-M suit] —JV, GMA News