Ombudsman dismisses case vs Drilon et al

The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the plunder and malversation case against Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, and Tourism Secretary Ramong Jimenez Jr. in connection with the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center.

In its 27-page decision, the Ombudsman said that “there is no basis for this Office to charge respondents with malversation of public funds and plunder.”

“There is also no specific evidence that respondents appropriated, misappropriated, consented, or through abandonment or negligence, permitted another to take the subject funds,” it said.

The Ombudsman also criticized complainant Manuel Mejorada for relying on online sources in filing his case.

Mejorada, during the Senate hearing, admitted that he had no material evidence to prove his allegations, and that he merely relied on online sources such as Wikipedia.

“Complainant’s reliance to online sources cannot be given credence in establishing the culpability of respondents. Given the seriousness of the allegation, complainant should come forward not with unreliable sources but with concrete evidence,” the Ombudsman said. 

The Ombudsman also said that Mejorada’s allegation that the total cost of the ICC should have been pegged only at P192,000,000 is “misplaced.” It said the complainant’s assertion of the industry standard of P30,000.00 per square meter ”has no actual basis or supporting evidence.”

Contrary to Mejorada’s claim of undue injury to the government, the Ombudsman found out that the government was even able to save a huge amount of money allotted for the ICC’s design.

The Ombdusman also dismissed Mejorada’s claim that there was no public bidding conducted for the project.

 “Contrary to complainant’s allegation of rigged bidding, competitive bidding was still observed even during the negotiated procurement stage,” it said.     

The Ombudsman stressed that “having failed to establish the commission by respondents of the criminal offenses charged, it finds it unnecessary to dwell on the alleged existence of conspiracy (among Drilon, Singson, Jimenez, and others).”

 “We are grateful that the Ombudsman acted promptly on the case, for it was not only my reputation – which I have worked so hard for for the past 30 years – that was being maligned, but also that of the good secretaries of Public Works and Tourism, whose integrity and credibility have never been put into question until the baseless case against the ICC was maliciously filed,” said Drilon.

He said that the dismissal of the case "just goes to show that the baseless and malicious allegations hurled against the ICC are completely without merit.”

 “I have always been confident since day one in the Office of the Ombudsman's wisdom and competence to see through these lies concocted to discredit us and to jeopardize the implementation of the ICC,” the Senate President said.-end-