Zaldy Ampatuan may face P1-B plunder raps

Suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindandao (ARMM) governor Rizaldy "Zaldy" Ampatuan and his subordinates are set to face a string of plunder charges from the government, two Cabinet officials said on Tuesday. Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the scion of the powerful Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao may be held liable for the alleged misuse of funds amounting to P1 billion. On Tuesday, Robredo, De Lima and Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz met to discuss a Commission on Audit (COA) report indicating that of the P2.5 billion released to ARMM during Zaldy's term, about P1 billion was unaccounted for. "Itong kaso na ito, malinaw dahil may documentary evidence na may nilabas na pera. Mayroon ding reports yung sinasabing suppliers na hindi nila resibo iyon. Mayroon pa pong klarong excesses na expenditures. Kaya palagay ko malakas yung kaso. Ang unang in-audit ang office regional governor. Wala pa yung infrastructure projects," Robredo said. (This case is solid because there is documentary evidence that money was disbursed. There are reports here quoting suppliers as saying that they did not issue receipts to the ARMM. There are also clear excesses in expenditures, that is why I think we have a strong case. This is just the audit of the Office of the Regional Governor. It does not include infrastructure projects yet.) Key members of the Ampatuan family, including patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., are among the 196 individuals murder charges for the Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre. Zaldy is currently detained at the Quezon City jail annex inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. GMA News Online tried to reach Zaldy's camp through his lawyer, Howard Calleja, who could not be reached as of posting time. For her part, De Lima also noted that Zaldy and his subordinates may have used "fictitious receipts and fictitious supporting documents" to justify their expenses. COA report Robredo, meanwhile, said that the the COA report only covers one year and half in Zaldy's tenure as ARMM governor from 2005 to 2009. He added that more charges may be filed against the Ampatuan scion because the COA is yet to furnish him three reports. Robredo said the DILG will submit to the DOJ the pieces of evidence against Zaldy. To which, De Lima said she will form a committee that will evaluate documents to be given by the DILG. De Lima added that the investigation will determine whether the charges against Zaldy will be filed with the DOJ, or the Office of the Ombudsman, which has the primary jurisdiction to look into alleged corrupt activities of public officials. She added that ARMM local officials may also be held liable for the alleged anomalous projects in the region. The Justice chief also noted that during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the COA has not outrightly come up with its report on the audit of ARMM funds. The Ampatuans are widely believed to be political allies of Mrs. Arroyo. "Never before has there been an audit of ARMM funds, even though we had a lot of information about the funds going to the coffers of the Ampatuans," said De Lima. "There are supposed to be auditors assigned to areas like that. It's either [the auditors] are afraid or complicit. But more often than not, they would be afraid because no one would dare check whether a particular project exists or has been finished," she added. Graft raps Just last week, Robredo issued a statement saying his office would file graft charges against Zaldy over an alleged P2.559 billion worth of misallocated funds from 2008 to 2009. "The findings disclosed that there was a total disregard of budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations. Based on the audit findings, many ARMM officials seem to be oblivious of what transparency, integrity, public responsibility and accountability are," said Robredo. The DILG, according to Administrative Order 273, has supervisory powers over autonomous regions in the Philippines, including the ARMM. Included in the ARMM are the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and the Islamic City of Marawi. The COA Special Audit Team carried out the audit from Feb. 1 to Dec. 20, 2010 and focused on the utilization of funds received by the local government under Ampatuan from 2008 to 2009. — RSJ, GMA News