Ombudsman Remulla: France trip to get info on Co, Legarda

MANILA, Philippines — There is no assurance that Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla would be able to successfully facilitate the return of former House lawmaker Zaldy Co and Sen. Loren Legarda, both of whom are reportedly in France.

Remulla said his trip to France with other officials would only “lay the groundwork” for flying them back to the Philippines to face their respective criminal liabilities in compliance with European Union rules.

“There will be an exchange of information first,” he said in his weekly radio show “Executive Session” on dzRH.

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Asked on whether the trip would result in capturing Co or Legarda, Remulla said: “No, what is needed there is to prepare… prepare for the different questions you want to ask (authorities).”

READ: PNP ready to coordinate with France to locate Zaldy Co

Co, who previously chaired the House committee on appropriations, is charged with graft and malversation for his alleged role in an irregular flood control project worth P299.4 million in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

‘Asylum’In April, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida initiated efforts to expedite the return of Co after President Marcos Jr. announced that the former Ako Bicol party list lawmaker was accosted at the border of Germany and Czech Republic.

READ: DILG chief to visit France for red notice bid vs Zaldy Co

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Co was later released by Czech authorities as there was no standing international arrest warrant or red notice from the International Criminal Police Organization against him. He, however, is now believed to have been staying in France, where he supposedly applied for asylum.

On the other hand, Legarda and son Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste left the country on Aug. 2 for Hong Kong, with France as their final destination. They departed days after the Office of the Ombudsman announced that the two lawmakers were being investigated for plunder and graft in connection with “ghost electricity” projects.

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The projects allegedly cost the government more than P10.4 billion in unpaid financial obligations.

FATF meeting eyed

Remulla said he intends to meet with the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force to raise possible money laundering issues, as well as with EU officials since Co and Legarda may easily move between the border-free Schengen area.

Remulla said he wants to relay to the EU representatives that the bloc should not be a haven for money laundering, citing rumors about the acquisition of properties by public officials.

He added that the absence of an extradition treaty between the Philippines and France should not stop the government from exhausting legal means to bring Co or Legarda home.

‘No gov’t money was stolen’

Also on Saturday, Legarda’s spokesperson, lawyer Tony La Viña, criticized as a “waste of prosecution resources” the investigation into the plunder and graft complaint filed against her and her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, particularly over the latter’s solar companies.

The Ombudsman is conducting a preliminary investigation into the complaint filed in connection with alleged irregularities involving Leviste’s Solar Para sa Bayan (SPBC) and Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc.

This also stems from the more than 30 service contracts granted to Leviste which the Ombudsman said created a “monopoly” of solar projects.

In an interview with DWIZ, La Viña maintained that “no government money [was] used, no government money was stolen,” as he previously explained that service contracts and franchises acquired by Leviste are not allotted government funds and used only private funds.

He said further the fines on these contracts were even paid by Leviste.

“There is no so-called [P]24 billion or [P]10 billion. Not a single document asking him to pay for that,” La Viña said.

No influence

He said Legarda did not help her son secure a solar franchise when she headed the Senate committee on finance as the votes were unanimous.

“It seems absurd, doesn’t it? That just because you’re a senator and have a son, it’s automatically assumed you used your power to secure franchises or contracts for him?” the lawyer said.

He acknowledged, however, that 90 percent of Leviste’s renewable energy initiatives failed, while only 10 percent delivered.

Yet he also noted that the “most successful renewable energy project” of the administration was among Leviste’s projects.

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“That’s the nature of the business, is what I’m saying. Leandro is only one of several players in the business. But again, what Senator Legarda has nothing to do with that,” La Viña said. —With a report from Holly Bacay