Gutierrez urged to go on leave
Call rejected; critics described as misinformed

BY WENDELL VIGILIA and PETER TABINGO

OMBUDSMAN Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez was asked yesterday to take a leave while the impeachment complaint filed against her on Monday for being a "coddler of the powerful and corrupt" is being heard by the House.

"Dapat mag-leave of absence siya para maipakita na buhay pa ang delicadeza sa Pilipinas," Rep. Edno Joson (Ind., Nueva Ecija) said yesterday.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan joined Joson in his call, adding that Gutierrez should stop bullying her critics through threats of filing falsification and perjury charges.

But Gutierrez said she has no intention of leaving her post – whether temporarily or permanently.

"I am not going to resign. I am not taking a leave of absence, despite calls by presidential wannabes," she said.

She insisted those who want her out are either "misinformed" about her work or are "attention-seekers" seeking to make political hay at her expense.

She said she is prepared to face the House of Representatives.

Rep. Matias Defensor (Lakas, Quezon City), chair of the committee on justice which will hear the complaint, said congressmen facing charges before the Office of the Ombudsman should inhibit themselves from the impeachment proceedings.

"But I will clarify that it is a personal decision of the members of the House," he said.

Many congressmen are involved in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, one of the cases which the impeachment complaint said Gutierrez has not acted on.

Former Senate President Jovito Salonga, leaders of civil society groups and former government officials, in their 33-page impeachment complaint, accused Gutierrez of "betrayal of public trust and gross and manifest incompetence to perform her duties."

On charges that she has been sleeping on the job, Gutierrez said her office is investigating all controversies referred to it but the Code of Ethics (RA 6713) and Supreme Court rulings prevent her from disclosing the status of the investigations.

She said that in Chavez vs National Housing Authority, the High Court set limitations on such disclosures, including "information on investigations of crimes by law enforcement agencies before the prosecution of the accused; information on foreign relations, intelligence and other classified information."

She also cited a provision of RA 6713 stating that, "Public officials and employees shall not use or divulge, confidential or classified information officially known to them by reason of their office and not made available to the public, either to further their private interests, or give undue advantage to anyone; or to prejudice the public interest."

Gutierrez on Monday blamed politics for the impeachment move, saying the complaint was filed in the wake of her directive to file graft charges against former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta, vice president of the Liberal Party.

She also accused Salonga of being responsible for the loss of important documents on graft cases when the latter was chairman of the Presidential Commission on God Government.

Pangilinan said the Ombudsman is only giving her critics even more ammunition by resorting to bullying tactics.

"She should not be allowed to intimidate and threaten complainants using the power of her high office," he said.

Pangilinan said the Ombudsman and Malacañang seemed to be "reading from the same script" in reacting to the impeachment complaint.

He said: "Malacañang says the Office of the Ombudsman should not be politicized; the Ombudsman says politics is behind this impeachment complaint. Malacañang says in this issue that we should respect our court processes; the Ombudsman says the courts and not Congress is the proper venue for these complaints. It is a terrible spectacle for justice and the rule of law when the Ombudsman and Malacañang appear to be reading from the same script."

He said these statements reinforce the view that Malacañang and the Ombudsman are in cahoots to prevent the truth from coming out and the rule of law from prevailing.

"The perception arising from these delays is that the Ombudsman is biased in favor of the President and her family and closest allies," Pangilinan said.

Speaker Prospero Nograles has 10 session days since the filing last Monday to refer the complaint to the Defensor panel which has 60 session days to deliberate on the complaint.

The complaint was endorsed by Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros.

Yesterday, Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño (Bayan Muna), Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan (Gabriela) and Rafael Mariano (Anakpawis) also endorsed the complaint

"We endorse this complaint consistent with our commitment to fight corruption in government, assert public accountability and transparency, and work for the politics of change, as we have either initiated or endorsed all the impeachment cases against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo," they said in a statement.

The militant bloc slammed Gutierrez’ "hysterical response to the complaint" which "reveals her arrogance and immaturity by counter-attacking the complainants instead of welcoming the only opportunity for her to answer the charges."

"She has to resort to these personal attacks since she cannot refute the strong bases of the complaint," they said of the Ombudsman’s threat to file perjury against the complainants.

The progressive bloc also challenged the "members of the majority in Congress who have been saying that they are for transparency and accountability to read and endorse the complaint against an ineffective Ombudsman."

"Ombudsman Gutierrez has been instrumental in the continuing cover-up of Arroyo with her inactions and actions on the controversies contained in the complaint," they said.

They said President Arroyo "purposely" appointed Gutierrez to the post, noting she was a law school classmate of Jose Miguel Arroyo "who has been linked to numerous corruption scandals, the most recent of which is the alleged rigging of bids for World Bank-funded road projects."

"Gutierrez pursues the small fry and shields the most powerful and corrupt government officials of the land," they said.

The impeachment complaint said Gutierrez failed to prosecute those involved in the P1.3-billion Mega Pacific election computerization contract, in the collusion on the road projects financed by the World Bank where the name of Mike Arroyo has been mentioned, in the P728 million fertilizer fund scam involving former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc Joc" Bolante, in the $2 million extortion case against former justice secretary Hernando "Nani" Perez, and in the P6.9 million "euro generals" scandal involving former PNP comptroller Eliseo dela Paz.