LACSON: PEREZ BRIBERY MESS
TO OPEN NEW CAN OF WORMS

The impending trial for graft and extortion of former justice secretary Hernando Perez may yet open another can of worms against the Arroyo administration, Senator Panfilo Lacson said today.

It may be a little late but justice is finally catching up with these people responsible for the additional burden that befell us ordinary Filipinos, Lacson said, referring to the lopsided power generation contract with Argentinean firm, IMPSA, that has resulted in unused electricity charges being passed on to end consumers.

The Ombudsman on Monday recommended the filing of extortion, graft and falsification charges against Perez, a close Arroyo ally, in connection with the $2-million extortion charge of former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez.

Perez was then head of the Department of Justice when it issued a favorable legal opinion that paved the way for the signing of the contract being brokered by Jimenez, less than a month after Mrs. Arroyo took power in January 2001.

Citing results of his own investigation, Lacson said the actual amount involved in the extortion case was $14 million and that the $2 million merely represent Perez alleged cut in the anomalous transaction.

The more interesting question is who took part of the $12 million balance, Lacson said, hinting that the money could have gone up, down or sideways.

He said if the Ombudsman move is merely a political tact to generate goody points for the administration in the upcoming elections, it may as well blow in their faces with the high-probability of Perez undergoing a full blown trial that would expose the other personalities who benefited from the IMPSA deal.

The case will get more interesting if it reaches the trial stage. If Perez is called to the witness stand, he may have to account not only for $2 million but for $14 million. My information indicates Perez will also have to answer where the rest of the $12 million went, he said.

Likewise, Lacson said Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez could be held liable for obstruction of justice when he deliberately withheld information provided by Swiss prosecutors from the Ombudsman.

He said the information from Switzerland was coursed through the Department of Foreign Affairs even before the 2004 elections, and consequently to the Department of Justice.

On the other hand, Lacson said Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez should be given credit for finally pushing through with the case against her former boss and despite the indifference of the present justice secretary.