Hole of Justice
by Peter G. Jimenea
The Interloper
This is the case of the failed Iloilo City government housing project in the town of Pavia, Iloilo, costing P137M for the construction of 413 low-cost houses of poor city hall employees. It is a story that won’t easily go away.
It started in 2001 during the first term of Atty. Jerry Trenas, as elected mayor of Iloilo City. It ended in 2009, also his last term in office as mayor without even a finished unit out of the 413 houses supposed to be constructed.
Thus, a case was filed against him and the few others at the Ombudsman Office in Quezon City in 2004. But Ombudsman Monalisa, ehe, este Omb. Merceditas Gutierrez let it slept at her office until she resigned in 2010.
Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro in a hurry to take Gutierrez’ place, resolved to indict former Mayor Mansueto Malabor who only signed the contract but allowed Trenas to scot free despite his spending almost all the money for that failed project.
Casimiro delegated the task to Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas Pelagio Apostol to further probe the involvement of Mayor Trenas when both deputies are not blind to those unauthorized payments embraced in RA 3019 for Violation of the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Looking for probable cause in the involvement of Mayor Trenas, Casimiro tasked it to Apostol on August 2010. To date, however, no probable cause to indict the former mayor as they are still separating the chaff from the grains by numbers.
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Probable cause needs only to rest on evidence showing that more likely than not, a crime has been committed. The contractor abandoned the project, yet, Trenas continued paying his bills in millions. Here, even a high school student believes an offense charged has been committed.
This creates an impression without affirming the perception that the resolution of Casimiro to indict Mansueto M only without Jerry T and Apostol’s runaround of the Housing case to date were all done in exchange for – you know what!
Injustice lies fairly in “delayed” decision than “erroneous” that can be appealed immediately. These Ombudsman’s deputies should know that it is only for them and the moneyed-crooks that what they did was good!
They only reinforced the widespread public belief that the Ombudsman’s Iloilo Office is ran by officials with Alzheimer disease. Or maybe, because we failed to secure a guarantee that when Gutierrez steps down all crooks will go with her.
Lowly employees of the Office of the Ombudsman are most sorely tempted to steal but don’t, what a shame for superiors. This is the problem in government office with officials that easily yield to temptation of greed!
Somebody told me that Deputy Ombudsman Apostol cannot freely decide on all cases in his office due to the intercession of a powerful member of Pres. Pinoy’s administration. Evil that man could only be in this injustice-en-masse.’
Perhaps Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Apostol should resign to save his soul. He should know that what is somewhat missing in that interloper’s life is to die with dignity. The intercession is injustice to thousands of taxpayers and a crime that cries to God for vengeance!
We agree the Court has prerogative to relax procedural rules of even the most mandatory character. It has also discretion to dismiss a case or not as a power - not duty. Litigation, however, is not a game of technicalities but of merits.
This column is an inconvenient place for conducting judicial business. But I did my part as a journalist. God doesn’t sleep and He knows; qui peccat ebrius luat sobrius– he who offends when drunk shall be punished when sober. Sooner or later, sinners will pay!
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