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   Former Senate president Jovito Salonga ( right )
         
Former Senate president Jovito Salonga on Wednesday filed plunder and graft and corruption charges against President Arroyo before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Salonga, along with civil society groups Kilosbayan Foundation and Bantay Katarungan Foundation, accused Mrs. Arroyo of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Anti-Plunder Law and Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

The complaint was filed before the Ombudsman around 2 p.m. Wednesday. Salonga said he filed the complaint before the Ombudsman because under the Constitution, the President is not immune to its investigative powers.

Link
• Salonga's Complaint Papers
“Dadalhin yan sa Sandiganbayan. Immunity from suit covers that but by that time nakalipas na ang 2010 and therefore she will become a private citizen…hindi naman siya forever dun lalo na ngayon sinabi na niya, ‘I will step down in 2010,’” Salonga said.

(It will be brought to the Sandiganbayan. Immunity from suit covers that but by the time it would have been year 2010 and therefore she will become a private citizen… she wouldn’t be in power forever especially now after she proclaimed, ‘I will step down in 2010’.)

Salonga said his complaint was based on the President’s admission during a radio interview that she was aware of the alleged corruption involved in the national broadband project before flying to China to witness the signing of the contract last year. 

Mrs. Arroyo scrapped the deal early this year amid corruption allegations.

He added that be believes that filing an impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo before the House of Representatives will not prosper because the President purportedly controls the lower chamber of Congress.

The former Senate chief appealed to the Ombudsman to act promptly on his complaint and make recommendations to the Sandiganbayan.

Mrs. Arroyo is facing corruption allegations that stemmed from the scrapped $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal of the Philippine government with China’s ZTE Corp.

Palace spokesmen: Sad but will respect opinion
Hours after Salonga's case was received by the Ombudsman, Malacañang spokesmen issued separate statements downplaying the former Senate president's complaints and saying that he should not have immediately jumped into the "bandwagon."

"The President as a person who believes in rule of law as essense of democracy will always allow the law to take its own course," deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said.

He also encouraged Salonga to "exercise truthful and diligent circumspection of the issues facing our country."

Golez added that Salonga should respect judicial institutions in seeking for truth before passing judgment to others.

Lorelei Fajardo, another Palace spokesman, meanwhile, had this to say:  "Former senator Salonga, a staunch constitutionalist could have waited for the senate to end their investigation before filing any complaint."

"We feel that others simply jumps on the bandwagon of reckless judicial actions against the President," she added.

Ombudsman has its hands full
The Ombudsman has only recently acted on several criminal complaints filed last year in connection with the scrapped NBN deal as it formed an investigative panel which launched public hearings starting mid-February.

The President ordered the Ombudsman to investigate the NBN deal after the controversy was again thrust to the limelight with the appearance of the Senate investigation’s latest resource person Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada Jr.

Separate anti-graft cases were filed against the President, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., former National Economic and Development Authority Romulo Neri, former Speaker Jose De Venecia and son, Joey, Secretary Leandro Mendoza and other officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications and executives of ZTE.

Among those who filed criminal charges for violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act were Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla, former vice-president  Teofisto Guingona Jr., lawyer and Citizens’ Battle against Corruption (CIBAC) Rep. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, Akbayan Rep. Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, lawyers Harry Roque Jr., Roberto Rafael Pulido and Oliver Lozano,  Fr. Jose Dizon, Ma. Dominga Padilla, Roel Garcia and Bebu Bulchand.

Padilla filed his complaint before the Ombudsman late August last year.

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez inhibited herself from the investigation following doubts on her impartiality because of her close relationship with the First Family. She was a classmate of Mr. Arroyo in law school and served as the President's chief legal counsel for a time.

Salonga has reportedly also asked for Gutierrez to inhibit from acting on the complaints he filed. With reports from ABS-CBN News and d

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