Joker bucks probe on Impsa payoff scandal

The call for a congressional investigation into the alleged $14-million payoff made by the Argentinean firm Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Anomina (Impsa) to some government officials drew no support from one of the Senate’s vocal advocates against graft. Sen. Joker Arroyo on Friday cautioned Congress to go slow on proposals to conduct the Impsa probe citing the following reasons: • It is a waste of time and taxpayers money as Congress is bound not to finish the probe because of the coming elections • The Office of the Ombudsman has the jurisdiction of the case • The findings might be in conflict with that of the Ombudsman On Thursday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he would revive a resolution he filed in the 12th Congress, seeking a congressional inquiry into the alleged $1- million Impsa payoff. On Monday, the Ombudsman recommended the filing of charges for graft, extortion and falsification of documents against former justice secretary Hernando Perez. Former Manila lawmaker Mark Jimenez had alleged that Perez extorted $2 million in exchange for a favorable legal opinion that would pave the way for the government's approval of the $470-million deal to build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric power plant. Arroyo, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said in a radio interview that it might be more prudent for Congress to leave the matter in the hands of the Ombudsman, which has already taken jurisdiction over Perez' case. "Whenever it's like that, I think the Senate or the House [of Representatives] should go slow. Once the prosecutors have already taken jurisdiction over the matter, we should give respect to the other departments of the government," Arroyo said. Arroyo noted that if Congress comes into the picture at this time that the Ombudsman has already ruled on the case, it might just complicate the matter. "The danger is that, supposing the findings of the Blue Ribbon Committee turns out to be different from the findings of the Ombudsman. That would just put us all in an awkward situation," Arroyo said. Arroyo said that if his committee would conduct the investigation as sought by Lacson, it could open the Senate to criticism. "We could be told: why are you so eager to do it now when the case has already been resolved (by the Ombudsman); you should have conducted the investigation before hand," Arroyo said. Likewise, Arroyo pointed out that if the Blue Ribbon committee finds it proper to prosecute somebody after it had conducted its investigation, the normal practice is to refer the matter either to the Department of Justice or the Ombudsman. "It (the case) would just come back to the Ombudsman or be referred to the DOJ, so there would seem to be a duplication of efforts here," Arroyo said. Besides, Arroyo said that when the Senate resumes its session on January 22, the body would have only about three weeks of work and they still have to give attention to the passage of important bills pending in the Senate. Yet, Arroyo said if a resolution was indeed filed calling for the IMPSA probe the Blue Ribbon Committee would act on it. "I am open to anything, as long as there is a resolution. If there is a resolution, that is a command and the committee would have to act accordingly," Arroyo said. Also accused with graft, extortion and falsification of documents were Perez's wife Rosario, his brother-in-law Ramon Arceo and businessman Ernest Escaler. Probers traced the $2 million deposited by Jimenez on Feb. 23, 2003 at Coutts Bank in Hong Kong and Trade and Commerce Bank in Cayman Islands through the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. The money was transferred to a bank account in the name of Escaler. Escaler then transmitted the $2 million to the joint account of Arceo and Rosario ($1.7 million) and to Arceo's account to the amount of $250,000. Investigators brushed aside Perez's allegation that the money in the account of his wife was part of an inheritance, saying it did not appear in the statement of assets he filed for the years 2001 and 2002. -GMANews.TV