Gutierrez: You talk too much; De Lima: So unprofessional

By Niña Calleja, Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:43:00 02/03/2011

MANILA, Philippines—
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez Wednesday assailed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima
for making “unprofessional” comments on the plea bargain forged by her office
with plunder suspect Carlos Garcia.

“Magtrabaho ka at wag kang daldal nang daldal (Do your work and stop talking too much). Don’t criticize us ... You’re being unprofessional,” Gutierrez said of De Lima during the weekly Fernandina Forum at Club Filipino in San Juan City.

Gutierrez had been asked to comment on De Lima’s statements about her performance as Ombudsman and on the disputed plea bargain with Garcia.

“This is the problem with our justice secretary; she comments so fast without knowing what is really happening,” Gutierrez said in Filipino.

Speaking later with reporters, De Lima said Gutierrez apparently did not know that irregularities in the use of public funds were an integral part of the plunder case filed against Garcia.

“If we have an Ombudsman who doesn’t seem to realize that public funds are involved, then we have a problem,” De Lima said.

“I saw how the Ombudsman firmly justified the plea bargaining agreement [at a House
inquiry on Tuesday] ... There are portions that are disturbing,” she said.

As for Gutierrez’s remarks against her earlier Wednesday, De Lima said: “It’s part of my job. When I say those things, that’s in accordance with my work also. I don’t want to dignify comments like that. It’s so unprofessional.”

‘We also get hurt’
Gutierrez said she had felt the need to air her side because of the criticisms being hurled at her.

“Of course, we also get hurt. But even if we are affected by all these accusations, we have to perform our job and do what is legal,” she said.

Gutierrez said De Lima had no right to speak on the plea bargain because she was not the one handling the case.

“Does she know better than the prosecutors handling the case? If she does, then she must tell us and prosecute Garcia herself,” Gutierrez said.

“As a justice secretary, De Lima should respect the decisions of the court and the Ombudsman. We all deserve trust and respect,” she said.

She taunted former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo and former Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio to pursue the case in the way they wanted to.

“If [Marcelo] thinks we did not do it right, I’m willing to appoint him as prosecutor so that he will have the authority and responsibility to pursue this case,” she said.

The Ombudsman also said she had formed a panel of prosecutors to assess the latest evidence and the testimonies of former military budget officer George Rabusa and former state auditor Heidi Mendoza.

“The prosecutors will be asking Rabusa to submit his official statement. We will give weight to his claims,” she said.

Use letter of Garcia’s wife

De Lima questioned Gutierrez’s statement at the House hearing that it was difficult for the government to pursue the plunder case because the military contractors in the criminal information were identified only as John and Jane Does.

She said the prosecutors could have utilized the letter of Garcia’s wife Clarita when she tried to retrieve the $100,000 that US customs officials had seized from their sons at a San Francisco airport.

“Isn’t it in the statement of Mrs. Garcia, she was referring to kickbacks? Kickbacks presuppose public funds, and aren’t most cases before the Ombudsman about public funds?” De Lima said. “Did [the prosecutors] even know that they have to protect public funds?”

De Lima said Marcelo was right when he said that Clarita Garcia’s letter could be used as evidence against her husband because she was a co-conspirator.

Extradition withdrawn
She said the Ombudsman could have requested US authorities to extradite Garcia’s wife to force her to stand on trial.

“Why aren’t they working on the extradition proceedings? It’s really frustrating that according to the US legal attaché, the withdrawal of extradition proceedings was included in the plea bargain agreement,” De Lima lamented.