Ex-Pres. Arroyo sued over alleged Malampaya fund misuse

Two individuals representing groups advocating for electricity reform have filed a multiple malversation and graft complaint against former President and now House Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The complaint stemmed from the alleged misuse of P38 billion worth of public funds off Malampaya natural gas plant in Palawan during her presidency.

In a 24-page complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman dated September 28, Petronilo Ilagan of National Association of Energy Consumers for Reforms, Inc. (Nasecore) and Rogelio Reyes of  Boses ng Konsyumer Alliance, Inc., said the Ombudsman should file 96 counts of malversation and 96 counts of graft against Arroyo for the "whimsical disbursement" of the P38 billion Malampaya fund government revenues off the Camago-Malampaya Reservoir service contract.

The complainants cited a 2017 Commission on Audit (COA) report which states that out of the P173.280 billion Malampaya fund from the service contract, P38.807 billion had been released by May 21, 2012 but was categorized as improper due to non-compliance with existing laws, rules and regulations.

The complainants also accused Arroyo of justifying her use of the fund with catch-all use of two Presidential Decree No. 910 provisions:

• Section 1, which states that “It is declared policy of the State to achieve self-reliance in the country's energy requirements primarily through the intensified and coordinated exploration, exploitation and development of indigenous energy resources in order to accelerate overall economic growth” and
• Section 8, which reads “all government share representing royalties, rentals, production share on service contracts and similar payments on the exploration, development and exploitation of energy resources, shall form part of a Special Fund to be used to finance energy resource development and exploitation programs and projects of the government and for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the President.”

“Respondent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whimsically took the opportunity of the said law's inadequacy and deliberately twisted the interpretation of the said provision to mean that she, as President, had the discretion to use the Malampaya Fund for whatever purpose she deemed fit even if the same was not in accord with the purpose why the said law· was enacted in the first place,” the complaint read.

The complainants cited that based on the 2017 COA special audit on Malampaya fund, the P38 billion was unlawfully used on the following non-energy related initiatives:

• agricultural and irrigation programs
• calamity rehabilitation projects
• relocation and housing projects
• infrastructure projects
• transportation projects
• national security rehabilitation and improvement projects,
• fuel subsidy for public utility drivers

“She (Arroyo) took advantage of a provision of Presidential Decree No. 910 couched in general terms to suit her ill-desire to utilize the funds contrary to the very purpose and policy of the said law which no President prior to her has ever done or even attempted to do; not even Ferdinand E. Marcos himself, who issued the said decree,” the complaint said.

The complainants also asked Ombudsman Samuel Martires to place Arroyo under preventive suspension to prevent suppression of evidence.

GMA News Online has reached out to Arroyo's office for comment through Viber, but her office has yet to respond as of posting time. —KBK, GMA Integrated News