No DOJ probe appearance for Tupas, et al
Capitol lawyer petitions for dismissal of plaint
It will be a guaranteed no-show for Governor Niel Tupas, Second District Board Member Cecilia Capadosa and other top officials of the Iloilo Provincial Government on any hearings of the special probe team of the Department of Justice (DOJ) relative to the administrative complaints filed against them by the People's Graftwatch of Iloilo.
The News Today learned through Provincial Legal Office Chief Atty. Salvador Cabaluna that they had moved for the dismissal of the complaint for lack of jurisdiction.
"We believe and maintain that there is lack of jurisdiction here. We also believe and maintain that the investigation is nothing but political harassment. What we offered instead is for the Justice Department to refer the matter to the proper body which is the Office of the Ombudsman," Cabaluna said in a The News Today interview.
The special DOJ investigating panel has been tasked to hear out the arguments and allegations hurled by the People's Graftwatch of Iloilo against the Governor and other key officials of the Capitol.
The issue boils down to the Graftwatch's claims of graft and corruption in a Capitol transaction that the anti-graft body said was tainted with irregularity, illegality and impropriety.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez then formed a probe body headed by Provincial Prosecutor Bernabe Dusaban as subpoenas were sent out to Tupas and his other co-respondents.
The first day of the probe scheduled last week only saw the complainants from the Graftwatch with the second set of preliminary investigation set on February 8. Earlier it was learned that an extension was sought by the Capitol figures.
Cabaluna maintained that "This (cases) is all happening because Governor Tupas supported the decision of Senator Franklin Drilon to call for President Gloria Arroyo's resignation. We clearly suspect bias here."