PLUNDER RAP FILED AGAINST GORDON
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has filed in the Office of the Ombudsman a plunder complaint against Sen. Richard Gordon for allegedly diverting his pork barrel funds to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), which the latter chairs.
Trillanes asked the Ombudsman on Wednesday to investigate the “alleged anomalous disbursements” of Gordon’s P193 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), a pork barrel of lawmakers.
Besides Gordon, former PRC secretary general Gwendolyn Pang was named a respondent in the complaint for plunder, malversation, graft and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Gordon described as “fake news” Trillanes’ allegations against him.
Trillanes rehashed the findings of fired chief accountant Jeric Sian that Red Cross funds were allegedly used for campaign materials used in Gordon’s unsuccessful candidacies for president in 2010 and senator in 2013.
Trillanes claimed that the alleged misuse of the funds for Gordon’s campaign materials should “definitely” be considered “ill-gotten wealth,” one of the allegations required for a charge of plunder.
The plunder law requires that there has to be an amassing of ill-gotten wealth “through a combination or series of overt or criminal acts.”
Asked if he had proof that Gordon actually acquired any wealth or kickback from the pork barrel funds, Trillanes said it would be up to the Ombudsman to dig up more evidence “because they can access other documents.”
But he maintained the misuse of funds should be considered plunder since the diversion of the pork barrel funds spared him from added personal expenses.
“Supposedly in the campaign, he would have used his own money. But here, he used the funds of Red Cross,” Trillanes said.
As for the alleged diversion of funds for Gordon’s campaign, Trillanes accused Pang of entering into “anomalous transactions for the benefit of respondent Gordon.”
Although the PDAF proceeds were transferred to the nongovernment organization (NGO), the complaint argued these clearly remained to be public funds under the memorandum of agreement entered into by PRC, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Gordon’s office.
Likewise, Trillanes questioned whether it was ethical for Gordon to divert his pork barrel funds to an NGO for which he acted as chair and chief executive officer since 2004.