JBLCF exec denies P56.6M graft, plunder raps
ARCELO
"I did not steal a single peso. I did not pocket a single centavo. I welcome the government's plunder case. It is time for truth to come out."
Such was the immediate reaction of highly-respected Ilongga businesswoman and member of the academe, Mary Lou Arcelo, president of the John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation (JBLCF) following Friday's breaking news of charges filed before the Office of the Ombudsman
Arcelo along with husband Adrian were named as co-respondents in a graft, plunder and conspiracy case lodged by the Department of Education (DepEd) relative to over P56 million questionable transaction under the department's Fund Assistance for Private Education (FAPE).
The 67 year-old JBCLF president was implicated in what DepEd Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Camilo Montessa said was the government's strong signal that the department is "serious in going after corrupt education officials."
News wires from national dailies tagged the Arcelo couple as conspirators of former DepEd Secretary Ricardo Gloria and some five other former high-ranking officials of the FAPE.
The news articles that saw print in Philippine Star and Philippine Daily Inquirer further quoted Montessa as having alluded to the Ilonggo duo as responsible for the financial setback suffered by FAPE "due to questionable financial dealings entered into by Arcelo (referring to Adrian) and his wife."
It was also alleged that the couple authorized the release of over P56 million through a dummy, the JBLCF here in Iloilo City.
"The funds which were meant for some schools and students allegedly went to the Arcelos' own pockets," the Philippine Star article continued while quoting DepEd Assistant Secretary Montessa.
Statements that the woman College President decried.
"It is shocking to be implicated since I am not and have never been an officer or employed by FAPE hence I cannot "authorize" anything. To allege that I personally benefited is a ploy to discredit my integrity," she said in TNT interview. "I pray that FAPE will push through with the case. I still have trust in our judicial system."
Longtime school employees have since expressed concern and alarm on the report while Arcelo shrugged off the threat.
"I will become a martyr... I stand by the ideals that were pushed by my father... the same ideals that have helped us all these years," she added.
Arcelo's woes with the DepEd's FAPE was said to have started after Adrian stopped serving as FAPE president Dubbed as "The FAPE man," the male Arcelo was then credited for his efforts in successfully handling FAPE and its programs.
FAPE was created during the administration of then President Ferdinand Marcos as a trustee of the Philippine government to manage the trust funds donated by the United States through grants.
The funds were used to finance the schooling of public elementary and high school students in private schools in an attempt to decongest public schools.
Of late however, FAPE has been besieged with controversy after controversy particularly in the disbursement of its funds. The Commission on Audit in a report then questioned over P223 million in FAPE releases.
"My husband left the FAPE in 1998 with his record unblemished He served since 1971 and was never involved in any wrongdoings," Arcelo ended while stressing that all is set for their defense once the charges are officially sent to them.
The DepEd supposedly had the FAPE investigated particularly the transactions between 1994 and 1998 wherein the male Arcelo served as its President.
TNT learned that the Ad Hoc Committee in its report stated that FAPE "seriously overextended itself financially." It further went on to report that "this was due to the questionable financial dealings particularly the unauthorized and unlawful release of money amounting to P56,650,800 to the Arcelo couple."
The graft, plunder and conspiracy suit stands to be the first major corruption case filed under the Sama-samang Pagkilos Laban sa Katiwalian (SAPAK, United Against Graft) project of the DepEd and the Office of the Ombudsman.