GAPING HOLES IN PLUNDER RAPS VS GMA, ET AL

The GAPING HOLES in the plunder case filed by former Solicitor General Frank Chavez against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) and three others are TOO BIG AND TOO ILLOGICAL to escape even the COMMON SENSE of even a non-lawyer like me.

Chavez claims that GMA used P530 million in Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds to buy Philhealth cards for her presidential bid in 2004.

But GMA’s co-accused, former Philhealth chief Francisco Duque, says the OWWA monies Chavez is talking about were transferred to  PhilHealth about a year after the election, and that he still has copies of the checks to prove this.

Chavez cited as proof the distribution of the Philhealth cards with GMA’s picture during the 2004 elections.

But Duque said those cards were funded by the national government and by P3 billion from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

I wonder what is Chavez’s evidence against Duque’s counter-claims.

Duque says he has documents to show that overseas workers and their dependents benefited from the transfer of OWWA funds to PhilHealth.

Chavez did not mention this in his case.

Chavez said as early as 20 November 2002, Duque wrote to GMA to  propose the transfer of the funds to PhilHealth because this would have a significant bearing on the 2004 elections.

But HE DIDN’T CITE any law which was violated by the request to transfer the funds.

Commission on Audit chair Grace Tan said the agency had looked into the fund transfer and DID NOT FIND IT ANOMALOUS. Chavez DIDN’T HAVE anything to say about this.

Basically, plunder is the act of stealing at least P50 million in public funds, pocketing it for personal gain.

But in his plunder complaint Chavez ADMITS that the OWWA funds WERE TRANSFERRED to Philhealth, NOT STOLEN or kept by GMA and her co-accused for themselves.

 Judge for yourselves, boys and girls.

This IS NOT in defense of GMA. What I’ve stated here are FACTS and published news reports. There is a WHALE of a difference between the two. Anybody correct me if I’m wrong. 

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