Arroyo sued for plunder over 'misuse' of OWWA funds

UPDATED 2:30 p.m. - A second plunder complaint was filed on Tuesday against former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, this time for allegedly misusing over P550-million worth of funds from the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA). Former Solicitor General Frank Chavez and the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)' group Migrante International filed the complaint against Mrs. Arroyo before the Department of Justice (DOJ) at past 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday. “Today is one of those days of reckoning. Some people think that they can run but they cannot hide. The long arm of law will catch up with them in the fullness of time," Chavez told reporters before filing the complaint. Mrs. Arroyo's spokesperson, Elena Bautista-Horn, refused to comment on the case since the former President’s camp has not received a copy of the complaint. The 22-page complaint accused Mrs. Arroyo of violating Republic Act 7080 (Plunder Law) for allegedly misusing P530 million from OWWA for “questionable" acquisitions and for the former President’s reelection bid in 2004. Aside from Arroyo, also named respondents to the case were:

former Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo;

former OWWA administrator Virgilio Angelo, and

former PhilHealth president Francisco Duque III The four respondents were also accused of malversation of funds, graft and corruption, qualified theft, and violations of the Omnibus Election Code and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials. ‘Misuse’ of OWWA funds The complainants accused Arroyo and the three former officials under her administration of “systematically" orchestrating the diversion and misuse of the OWWA fund for “questionable" acquisitions, which supposedly did not benefit OFWs. Arroyo allegedly authorized in March 2003 a request from Romulo to release $293,500 (about P16.5 million at that time) from OWWA funds supposedly to fund “preparatory activies" of the Philippine post in Kuwait. The amount also allegedly covered the purchase of vehicles for posts in Lebanon, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt and Iran in support of the United States-led war in Iraq. “The OWWA funds are funds held in trust by the government. They [the respondents] cannot dip their fingers to the cookie jar that exclusively belongs to the OFWs," Chavez said. In addition to these, about P5 million from OWWA funds were also released by the Arroyo government in May 2003 supposedly to fund the operating expenses of humanitarian assistance task force to Iraq. The complainants also accused Arroyo of authorizing the transfer of P530 million in OWWA funds to provide health insurance cards to eight million indigents a year before the 2004 national elections. “We call on the DOJ to thoroughly investigate these funds. OWWA funds are OFW funds. We demand to know where and how they were used during Arroyo’s term," Migrante International secretary-general Gina Esguerra said in a separate statement. Earlier plunder complaint The plunder case was the second one lodged against Arroyo barely a year after she left Malacañang. The first was filed in August last year by Danilo Lihaylihay, a private citizen who claimed to be an anti-corruption advocate. Lihaylihay claimed that the former President and three other former Cabinet officials committed plunder over the allegedly anomalous sale of the old Iloilo airport property in 2007. RA 7080 defines plunder as the acquisition of “ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt or criminal acts... in the aggregate amount or total value of at least P75 million." According to the same law, plunder is punishable by life imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from office. Arroyo’s predecessor, former President Joseph Estrada, was convicted of plunder in 2007 for receiving P545-million from proceeds of the illegal numbers game jueteng. Arroyo later granted executive clemency to Estrada, leading to his release after six years of detention. - VVP, GMA News