Merci slapped with graft, obstruction of justice charges

(Updated 5:57 p.m.) Former Ombudsman Merceditas "Merci" Gutierrez may have avoided a Senate impeachment hearing but militant groups on Monday filed against her a complaint of graft and obstruction of justice for her alleged inaction on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam. At the Department of Justice on Monday, the groups' leaders filed a joint complaint-affidavit holding Gutierrez accountable for the following offenses: violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, obstruction of justice, and perjury. The groups include the Anakpawis party-list, the National Union of People's Lawyers, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, and other farmers' and peasant groups. In their complaint, the groups decried the supposed "inordinate delay" in the filing of plunder charges againt former Agriculture officials Luis "Cito" Lorenzo and Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante. In 2004, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo allegedly used P728 million in fertilizer funds to bankroll her presidential campaign. In the same year, a plunder complaint was filed with the Office of the Ombudsman for investigation. A Task Force Abono was then created to investigate the allegations of corruption. In 2006, the body released its findings and recommended the indictment of certain personalities. Also in 2006, the Commission on Audit released its report finding alleged anomalies in the use of P728 million fertilizer fund. It was only in April 2011, five years after the task force issued its findings, when the Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Lorenzo and Bolante, among others. "Noteworthy, however, that with all these reports and recommendations of the Task Force Abono, it was only on April 14, 2011 when the Office of the Ombudsman approved a Joint-Resolution dated 11 March 2011 for the filing of Plunder and other criminal cases against Mr. Bolante and several government officials and employees and private individuals involved in the Fertilizer Fund Scam," the militant groups' complant said. "It was also only on 14 April 2011 that the Office of the Ombudsman resolved the administrative cases against the public officials and employees implicated in the Fertilizer Fund Scam and recommended, among others, their dismissal from service," they added. The complainants then said Gutierrez's failure to act expeditiously on the fertilizer fund mess is unacceptable because "a period of more than five years already constitutes inordinate delay in the administration of justice." "The said failure is contrary to the Ombudsman’s duty to give priority to complaints filed against high ranking government officials and/or those occupying supervisory positions and to complaints involving grave offenses and large sums of money," they added. Imepachment proceedings In March this year, the House of Representatives impeached Gutierrez after finding sufficient grounds that the Ombudsman betrayed public trust because of her supposed inaction on the fertilizer fund scam, among others. On April 29, or 10 days before the Senate impeachment trial was set to begin, Gutierrez announced she had tendered her resignation, which took effect on May 6. Merci's supposed offenses Aside from the fertilizer fund scam issue, the House of Representatives on March 22 impeached Merci, in a 212-46 vote with four abstentions, because of her alleged inaction on the following cases:

the National Broadband Network (NBN)-ZTE project involving Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo;

death of Ensign Philip Andrew Pestaño aboard a Philippine navy vessel;

the Mega Pacific deal on automated polls machines, and

the “Euro Generals" issue. - VVP, GMA News