Panlilio files plunder rap vs Pineda
Panlilio files plunder rap vs Pineda
By Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:43am (Mla time) 06/24/2008
MANILA, Philippines – Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio Monday haled Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda to the Office of the Ombudsman, formally putting a face to one of the “John Does” who supposedly helped former President Joseph Estrada plunder P1 billion during his administration.
A suspected gambling lord, Pineda has figured prominently in the landmark plunder trial of Estrada as among those who supposedly conspired with the former president in pocketing millions of pesos in illegal gambling payoffs.
But Pineda was not named as coaccused in the plunder case, which the Sandiganbayan concluded on Sept. 12 last year with a guilty verdict on Estrada, noted Panlilio in his 12-page complaint.
“The decision rendered by the Sandiganbayan and the evidence in possession of the [Ombudsman] and presented before the Sandiganbayan, which led to the conviction of [Estrada], also support an indictment for plunder of respondent Bong Pineda,” Panlilio stated.
Panlilio, a Catholic priest, was accompanied by his counsel, Ernesto Francisco, when he subscribed to his complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman Monday.
‘Local politics’
The Inquirer tried to get Pineda’s comments on Monday but his wife and son could not contact him. His son, Lubao Mayor Dennis Pineda, declined to comment, saying his father’s lawyer would answer the complaint.
Reached by phone, Estrada’s spokesperson, Margaux Salcedo, said Panlilio’s move was more of a “case of local politics.”
Salcedo added that Pineda’s wife, Lilia, a former Pampanga board member, was narrowly defeated by Panlilio in the gubernatorial race. She even questioned the priest’s victory, he pointed out.
He also reiterated that he has neither business dealings nor any “business connection” with Pineda.
Probable cause
The antigraft court last year found Estrada guilty of pocketing P545 million in “jueteng” payoffs and receiving P189 million in commissions from stock market purchases of state-managed employee pension funds.
But a pardon extended to Estrada by President Macapagal-Arroyo barely two months after his conviction saved him from a lifetime imprisonment.
Francisco explained that the filing of the complaint was for the antigraft body to find probable cause against Pineda and include him in the plunder case, which has yet to be completely closed because five more accused have yet to be tried.
The Sandiganbayan has a standing warrant of arrest against Yolanda Ricaforte, Eleuterio Tan, Alma Alfaro, Delia Rajas and Jaime Dichaves.
In his complaint, Panlilio recapped Pineda’s supposed participation in the conspiracy as stated in the records of the Sandiganbayan decision.
Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson had testified that he first met Pineda in 1998 during a meeting with Estrada in his Polk Street residence in Greenhills, San Juan .
Ledgers
There, Pineda was allegedly instructed by Estrada to deliver monthly jueteng payoffs either to Singson or former gambling buddy Charlie “Atong” Ang instead of directly giving it to him.
Ledgers presented by Singson also showed that Pineda delivered monthly in 1999 some P2 million, which was later increased to P4 million, to Jimmy Policarpio, then a political liaison officer for Congress, “for media use.”
He also asked the Ombudsman to conduct a preliminary investigation against Pineda and a plunder case with the Special Division to be “re-opened” with respect to the respondent.
Panlilio said Pineda was mentioned more than eight times in the landmark decision as having helped Estrada amass ill-gotten wealth.
“[The] exclusion of Pineda from the charges that were all heaped on former President Estrada [is] a big question to the people,” Panlilio said after he filed the complaint before Marlyn Galvez, director of the Ombudsman’s public assistance bureau in Quezon City .
Reading from a statement, Panlilio told reporters that the exclusion of Pineda from the Estrada plunder case “constitutes a gross oversight of justice which must be remedied, and which this complaint seeks to rectify.”
“We must not whimsically forget or ignore those who have sought to corrupt the highest office of the land,” said Panlilio, a Catholic priest who defeated Pineda’s wife, former Pampanga Board Member Lilia Pineda, in the May 2007 gubernatorial election.
“As we desire leadership by example, so do we also desire justice by example,” Panlilio said.
Collective voice
He said “collective voice [must be raised] against this pervasive perversion, or else governance will not have any moral ground to stand on.”
He said he has “nothing personal” against Pineda. “This is not my personal crusade. This is the crusade of meaningful churches and people who want good governance,” he said.
Ridding Pampanga of jueteng was part of that crusade, he added.
“It will be an entirely new trial,” he said.
According to Francisco, Pineda qualified for plunder because the plunder law, Republic Act 7080, states that “any person who participated with said public officer in the commission of an offense contributing to the crime of plunder shall likewise be punished for such offense.” With a report from Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon