MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to start its investigation into a WikiLeaks cable report accusing former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of involvement in illegal gambling and smuggling operations during his wife’s term as president.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday told The STAR that she would gather documents cited in the report – particularly those containing the statements of business leaders cited by then US embassy economic counselor Robert Ludan in his cable.
The allegation against Arroyo, according to the cable, was based on meetings of US embassy officials in Manila with Washington Sycip, founder of top accounting firm SGV; Francis Chua, then president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry; and Guillermo Luz, then executive director of the Makati Business Club.
“We will seek those documents once confirmed. Those statements – especially from the business leaders – can serve as evidence from where we can start our investigation,” De Lima said.
Chua, on the other hand, denied making the statements linking Arroyo to illegal activities.
“It is impossible and improbable, given the guiding principles of the federation, that I could or would have made such a disparaging statement,” Chua told ABS-CBN News.
“Throughout all the years of my business advocacy, my many friends would know that it is not in my character to engage in character assassination or make negative utterances,” he said.
De Lima revealed her office is initiating its own investigation into the report, citing recurrence of the same charges linking Arroyo to jueteng (illegal lottery) and smuggling operations in the past.
“We’ve heard about those allegations of alleged involvement of the former first gentleman in anomalies even during their time. He himself said these are mere rehash. But has there been an actual investigation? There’s none, that’s why we want to look into this so we can put closure now,” she explained.
De Lima said it is the mandate of the DOJ to initiate investigation into issues of national interest like the allegations against Arroyo.
De Lima said she would most likely tap the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for fact-finding.
De Lima, however, stressed a formal complaint would be necessary before preliminary investigation would be conducted. This would require more pieces of evidence, she stressed.
De Lima believes an investigation on this issue would prosper should the businessmen cited in the report decide to cooperate.
She said this is not the first time the Arroyos are being linked to smuggling and jueteng.
“Especially during their time (term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), we’ve been hearing certain allegations on smuggling – that his (Arroyo’s) supposed associates or partners are involved in those illegal activities, but they remain to be allegations,” she said.
Among those cited by the cable was the meeting of Sycip with US embassy officials in Manila in 2005, a year after former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won the presidency in an election marred by allegations of massive fraud.
Mrs. Arroyo, Sycip supposedly said, was also aware of her husband’s allegedly corrupt ways but couldn’t do anything, according to the US cable published by WikiLeaks.
Sycip was quoted by embassy officials in the cable as saying that Mr. Arroyo “is heavily involved in the illegal gambling or jueteng networks and closely connected with major smuggling syndicates.”
The cable further states that “President Arroyo, according to Sycip, is aware of her husband’s misdeeds, but she is unwilling to do anything to curb his activities because he was instrumental in marshaling campaign donations and is now keeping those supporters in line to help her maintain her grip on power. This creates a practical difficulty for Cabinet secretaries, because many of these supporters have been placed in key government jobs and ‘report directly’ to Mr. Arroyo, bypassing the agency chain of command.”
De Lima admitted she was puzzled by the sudden release of the cables by WikiLeaks on the Philippine political scene.
She said she also wants to find out the purpose of the recent exposés.
“Why are these WikiLeaks reports coming out simultaneously? Are there people who are behind these?” she asked.
Malacañang has opted to keep mum on the cables, but said it would allow the DOJ to do what is prudent.
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By: Edu Punay
Source: The Philippine Star, Sept. 8, 2011
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