Press Release
February 12, 2009

ROXAS TO GUTIERREZ: DON'T BLAME WB FOR YOUR OWN FAILURE
OMBUDSMAN HAS ENOUGH POWERS TO GET EVIDENCE

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez cannot skip accountability for her sluggish action on the World Bank corruption report by turning the tables on the supposed uncooperative attitude of the international lending body in her own investigation, Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas said today.

"Bakit sinisisi ngayon ni Ombudsman Gutierrez ang World Bank sa kawalang aksyon ng kanyang opisina sa isyu ng katiwalian na ito? Kayang-kaya naman niyang gawan ng paraan na makuha ang lahat ng kailangang detalye para mabusisi ang report ng World Bank pero mukhang sinadya talagang hindi ito silipin ng masinsinan dahil sa pagkakasangkot ng mga taong malapit sa kanya (Why is Ombudsman Gutierrez now blaming the World Bank for its inaction? She can easily find ways to get into the bottom of the WB findings but it is obvious that she was not really interested in knowing the truth because it involved people close to her)," he said.

Gutierrez told senators during Thursday's hearing by the Senate economic affairs committee that her office was impeded from pursuing its investigation into the WB report because the bank only provided her office with a 9-page report and failed to give additional data on how it reached its findings, such as the list of witnesses who testified on the alleged bribery that accompanied the project biddings.

But the Ilonggo senator said the Ombudsman is armed with broad investigative and prosecutorial powers, including subpoena powers, which it should have exhausted to determine the truth.

"Bakit hindi niya pina-subpoena ang mga kailangan niyang dokumento? At kung wala man ang mga dokumentong ito, wala bang ibang paraan para malaman niya ang katotohanan? Ang sabi nga, kung gusto ng isang tao, may paraan. Kung ayaw, may dahilan. Ano nga ba ang dahilan at ayaw niyang aksyunan ang isyung ito? (Why did she not subpoena the documents that she needed? As the idiom goes, if you want something, you'd find ways to get it. If you don't want anything, then there must be a reason for that. So what is her reason for not wanting to resolve this issue?)" he asked.

He noted that Gutierrez had acted similarly on previous controversies which involved government officials and personalities close to Malacanang, particularly First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, among them the P728 million fertilizer fund diversion scam, the NBN-ZTE deal and the Euro Generals controversy.

"Lagi naman basta kasangkot ang mga taong malalapit sa Malakanyang, talagang mabagal ang kilos ng ating Ombudsman. Ngayon sinisisi pa niya sa iba ang kawalan niya ng aksyon eh kitang-kita naman natin na hindi lang talaga siya interesadong alamin kung totoo ang mga alegasyon ng World Bank (She's always slow to act when cases involved Malacanang's tenants. Now she is even blaming somebody else for her ineffectivity when we all know that her lack of action was deliberate)," he said.

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