PALACE SACRIFICED NANI PEREZ
TO ERASE CORRUPTION STIGMA

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the decision of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to prosecute former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez before the Sandiganbayan for graft, extortion and falsification of public documents is a pleasant surprise which may be intended by the Arroyo administration to erase the perception that it is coddling big-time grafters.

It seems the administration will make a sacrificial lamb out of former Secretary Perez to show before the nation that they are running after corruption. They want to create the impression that they are not tolerating corruption, he said.

While lauding the Ombudsmans elevation of the case to the Sandiganbayan, Pimentel said the anti-graft office should have investigated deeper the allegation that Perez conspired with other administration personalities in the extortion/bribery case and that the amount involved was much bigger than $2 million.

There was a lot of talk that not only Nani was involved in the case, he said.

The minority leader also expressed the hope that Ombudsman Gutierrez will really demonstrate her independence and fidelity to her constitutional duty by acting on the other corruption complaints against other big fish including the P2.5 billion fertilizer fund scam involving former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante.