BY JP LOPEZ

SENATE President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada yesterday asked the Ombudsman to upgrade the robbery-extortion charges against former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez and his three accused to plunder.

"The Ombudsman should file plunder charges against Perez and the others, which is non-bailable, to prevent them from escaping from the rule of law," he said.

The Ombudsman last April 18 recommended that Perez, his wife Rosario, brother-in-law Ramon Arceo and business associate Ernest Escaler be charged with robbery-extortion, graft and corruption, and falsification of public documents.

The charges stemmed from the complaint of former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez in February 2001 that the respondents extorted $2 million from him after he refused to implicate associates of former President Joseph Estrada in his plunder case.

Jinggoy said Perez was lucky enough that it took the Ombudsman six years to review his case while it took the government only three months to file plunder charges against former President Estrada.

He said while Jimenez may have filed an affidavit of desistance, the Ombudsman still has the right to investigate and to file charges against Perez.

"It is very very ironic. Tapos napanood ko siya sa TV kahapon, sinasabi pa niya he's being used as the deodorant by the Ombudsman. Dapat nga magpasalamat pa siya kasi dapat matagal na siyang nakakulong," Jinggoy said.

Perez on Monday accused Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez of using him to cover up her inaction on "more important cases" in her office.

Perez said the cases should never have been filed before the Sandiganbayan for lack of basis and for procedural violations.

He said the Ombudsman chopped the Jimenez complaint to come up with four charges that were based on the same set of circumstances.

"They charged me with anti-graft and the same act is supposed to constitute robbery. Alam ba ninyo kung ano ang robbery? Yung nanunutok. And then they charged me with falsity in the statement of assets and liabilities and charged me of falsification. These are the same things, pare-pareho lang yun," he said.

But Malacañang belied Perez' allegations saying the Ombudsman conducted a "fair" investigation on his case.