MANILA: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is likely to initiate forfeiture proceedings in court to recover allegedly ill-gotten assets – including real estate – of those linked to the development funds scam.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima relayed the DOJ position through Negros Occidental Representative Mercedes Alvarez to the House of Representatives during plenary debates on the department’s 2014 budget Thursday night. Cabinet members are not allowed to directly participate in plenary debates, unlike in committee hearings.
Alvarez, an appropriations committee vice chairman, conferred with De Lima when Kabataan party-list Representative Terry Ridon raised during the plenary the possibility of initiating forfeiture proceedings against certain individuals named in the pork barrel scam.
Ridon, who is a lawyer, said forfeiture proceedings should be pursued at some point independently of any criminal prosecution. Responding to Ridon after conferring with De Lima, Alvarez said, “Your honour, the Department of Justice will consider pursuing asset forfeiture proceedings against the suspects.”
“Would such action be separate from the suspects’ criminal prosecution?” Ridon asked. “Yes, it will be a separate action,” Alvarez replied.
The DOJ – through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – filed plunder and malversation complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman against 38 individuals suspected of involvement in the anomalous disbursement of congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund. The respondents in the cases included three senators. The DOJ may initiate the filing of forfeiture cases, but it is the Office of the Ombudsman which can do the actual filing with the Sandiganbayan.
While bank deposits may be frozen through the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Ridon said other assets, including expensive mansions and other properties and luxury vehicles, could be targeted using the law on forfeiture before they are dissipated.
Ridon said under the law on forfeiture, assets that are grossly not commensurate with a public officer’s legal income could be considered as having been acquired through illegal means.
Earlier, De Lima said the NBI was coordinating with the AMLC for the freezing of bank accounts of Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr and 35 others charged with plunder and malversation of public funds before the Office off the Ombudsman.
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