Payback Time

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. jimenea

Payback Time

Barring unforeseen circumstances, former DOJ Sec. Raul M. Gonzalez will be the guest of “Kape kag isyu,” this coming Saturday, August 18 at Hotel Del Rio, iloilo City. Yours truly hosts this TV talk-show aired live over Sky Cable TV every Saturday morning from 9:30 to 11:30.

The program is co-hosted by two prominent city lawyers, Atty. Teofisto “Pet” Melliza and Atty. Dwight Trasadas. The latter is one of the many aspirants for city councilor this coming elections. We hope Junior, the son of Sec. Gonzalez who is rumored to run again for Congress would also be guesting.

Raul Gonzalez, Jr. has no record of corruption ever since he entered politics as a city councilor of Iloilo City. When in Congress, his program for hospital and medical assistance to the poor is lauded by constituents. His is far different from that of the present system used by  Cong. Jerry Trenas.

He is also a silent performer with number of sponsored Bills in Congress which are now laws but he never bragged of the accomplishment. It is not however, a cause for alarm of Cong. Trenas who is over-prepared for the battle in 2013. The Iloilo City Housing Project Scandal in Pavia is what he feared most! 

This is the most delicate issue that can pull down his political future. The issue that hounds him for years is now in the hands of the Ombudsman. His luck of always getting off the hook easily is now waning. See the article of Miss Florence Hibionada in The Daily Guardian Newspaper issue of August 12, 2012.

Former Cong. Raul Gonzalez, Jr. and incumbent Cong. Trenas are both lawyers but I’m uncertain if they differ in understanding of the Code of Professional Responsibility. Canon 1  – “A lawyer shall uphold the Constitution, obeys the laws of the land and promote respect for law for legal processes.”

in Rule 1.01 - “A lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct.” But the P137M Iloilo City Housing Project for the 413 units of low-cost houses for the City Hall employees that started in 2001, ended in 2009 without even a unit standing and completed. It was Mayor Trenas who implemented this project.

The case filed against Mayor (now Cong.) Trenas et al, slept with the Office of the Ombudsman for almost eight years. Still, to date, after that investigation-in-eternity, no probable cause had been found to indict Mayor Trenas. Worse, Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro ordered a further probing of his case. Evil it can only be!

His Resolution submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visyas is tainted with grave abuse of discretion. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales should know about this mess of Monalisa’s stooges. True, anyone accused of involvement in corruption can be expected to put up a strong defense – but not on this buying his way out of indictment!

No probable cause against then Mayor Trenas? The unauthorized payment of the mayor to the contractor is already embraced in RA 3019. Probable cause needs only to rest on evidence showing that most likely than not, a crime had been committed and there was enough reason to believe that it was committed by the suspect.

Overall Deputy Ombudsman Casimiro should go back to his law school and study more about Probable Cause. This needs not be based on clear- convincing evidence of guilt, neither on evidence establishing absolute certainty of guilt. It merely binds over the suspects to stand trial, not a pronouncement of guilt. What can you say about that, ODO Casimiro?

If you find no probable cause to indict Mayor now Cong. Trenas, what caused you to delay the dismissal of his case? Well, if you do not understand what you are doing, resign. Remember, qui peccat ebrius, luat sobrius-he who offends when drunk shall be punished when sober. And payback time is near!