File cases on ‘Yolanda’ fund misuse, Ombudsman urged
The new Ombudsman would do the victims of super typhoon Yolanda right by hastening the filing of charges against erring officials before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, Eastern Samar lone district Rep. Ben Evardone said yesterday, as the fifth anniversary of the super typhoon nears.
"I just hope that they will expedite the filing of plunder case with the Sandiganbayan to give justice to the victims of typhoon Yolanda," said Evardone, whose province was among those hardest hit by the disaster in November 2013.
In particular, the congressman wants to see the cases filed before the Ombudsman that have to do with the alleged misuse of millions worth of Yolanda rehabilitation funds.
Referring to the tenure of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Evardone said the fact-finding or evidence-gathering on these cases were "really too slow."
"Imagine, it took them almost five years to do it even if there were voluminous supporting documents and affidavits to support the case. Wala na tayong magagawa dahil ganun ang mangyari (That's what happened, we can't do anything about it)," he said.
Earlier this month, Evardone had the chance to face officials of the Office of the Ombudsman during its scheduled House budget deliberation. Leading the officials was newlyinstalled Ombudsman Samuel Martires.
During the hearing, Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas Paul Clemente apologized to the lawmaker for the slow pace the Yolanda rehab fund cases has moved.
According to him, the Ombudsman only has 12 field investigators covering Regions VI, VII, and VIII. "It really took time because the program of works and engineering estimates are all technical matters that really need validation."
"It's undergoing adjudication right now with our panel of lawyers in the OmbudsmanVisayas. And any recommendation we will make, we will forward these recommendations to the central office, your honors," Clemente said of the cases, which Evardone noted were filed back in March 2015.
The Ombudsman, which acts as "prosecutor," could then file the necessary charges before the Sandiganbayan, which tries government officials for their alleged misdeeds.
"I hope that you can finish your adjudication before the anniversary of Yolanda in November. Kasi mag-iiyakan ho ulit ang mga tao doon (The people there will be crying again)," Evardone replied.
Evardone, the Banks and Financial Intermediaries Committee chairman, was incredulous over the details of the rehabilitation contracts that the Ombudsman cases were questioning.
"The average repair of a barangay hall was R1.2 million. Where else could you find such contract? That's good for the construction of an entirely new barangay hall," he said in Pilipino.
He also cited door knob costs of a whopping R2,000 to R3,000 each even if the realistic price is only R250. One listed roof repair cost reached up to R4.5 million, the Visayas solon further said.
Martires for his part vowed to respond to Evardone's request for speedy justice.