Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales at the Meet the Inquirer forum. TRISTAN TAMAYO/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
A million peso theft without a thief.
听Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales lamented this fact听on Monday听following the Supreme Court鈥檚 final decision to dismiss the plunder case of former president now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo.
听In an interview with CNN Philippines鈥� 鈥淭he Source,鈥� Morales said the Supreme Court has made its final say on the dismissal of Arroyo鈥檚 plunder case, but as far as the Sandiganbayan is concerned, it found sufficient evidence against the former president over the misuse of P366 million in charity intelligence funds.
听READ:听SC affirms dismissal of听Arroyo听plunder cases听|听Ombudsman insists Arroyo guilty of plunder in PCSO case听
听鈥淲hat can we do? That鈥檚 what the Supreme Court said. But of course, the Sandiganbayan that tried the case believed the evidence sufficed,鈥� Morales said.
Morales said the dismissal of Arroyo鈥檚 Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) plunder case is just one of several cases involving theft of millions of taxpayers鈥� money where no thief was held accountable.
鈥淭here are a lot of cases involving amounts in the millions which are stolen, but no one stole it. Millions were stolen, but no one stole them,鈥� Morales said.
Arroyo earlier told reporters she feels 鈥渧indicated鈥� that her plunder case was dismissed by the Supreme Court due to weak evidence, urging the public听to focus instead on helping the Duterte administration achieve its objectives.听
READ:听Arroyo feels 鈥榲indicated鈥� on being acquitted of plunder with finality听
鈥淚t is truly a vindication.听We can now move forward and take stock of what remains to be done to help this current administration achieve its goals of giving a better life to all Filipinos,鈥� Arroyo said.
In a vote of 11-4,听the Supreme Court affirmed its July 2016 decision acquitting听Arroyo听from her plunder case.
The听plunder听charge filed against听Arroyo听involved allegedly diverting P366 million in听PCSO听intelligence funds intended for charity use for her personal gain during her term as President from 2008 to 2010.
The high听court听said听Arroyo鈥檚听approval of the P366 million intelligence fund releases was only ministerial and did not constitute an 鈥渙vert act鈥� to commit听plunder.听
READ:听SC:听Arroyo听OK on fund release not overt act of听plunder
Arroyo听was also cleared of her remaining corruption case before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division, which granted her demurrer to evidence in connection with the anomalous National Broadband Network (NBN) contract with Chinese firm ZTE.听
In its ruling, the anti-graft court said the prosecution failed to prove听Arroyo鈥檚 element of interest for personal gain in the NBN project, and that her听cancellation听of the NBN-ZTE contract in 2007 鈥渂olsters the argument that accused (Arroyo) did not hold any interest for personal gain in the approval and implementation of the NBN project.鈥�
The court also said听Arroyo听could not be held liable for breaching the code of听ethics when she had lunch and played golf with ZTE officials in China, because 鈥渢here was no clear and indubitable proof presented by the prosecution that accused PGMA was the recipient.鈥�
The anti-graft court鈥檚 decision to dismiss the evidence presented against her by the prosecution effectively dismissed the last of听Arroyo鈥檚 corruption cases during her nine-year administration.听
READ:听Sandigan dismisses听Arroyo鈥檚 NBN-ZTE case听
Since her release from four years of hospital detention,听Arroyo听was elected deputy speaker in the House of Representatives, until she was stripped of her position by the House leadership for voting against the administration pet bill the death penalty. The death penalty was abolished during her administration. JE
READ:听Arroyo, anti-death penalty solons ousted from key posts