It’s quite ironic that while the Aquino administration has been going after former President Gloria Arroyo for the alleged misuse of PCSO funds even though it just couldn’t show any evidence to prove the crime, the present PCSO board of directors appointed by President Aquino has been found by the Commission on Audit to be misusing PCSO funds.
Despite the failure of Arroyo’s prosecutors to show substantial proof that she indeed committed plunder, the former president has been detained by the Aquino administration. The view that this plunder case is quite weak is apparently shared by the first panel of Ombudsman investigators that dismissed the plunder charges. But the Ombudsman, for some reason, cannot seem to accept the investigators’ findings.
Meanwhile, the COA recently released an audit report on the current PCSO board of directors. The audit found irregularities in the use of PCSO funds in 2011. The COA also stated that the evidence it has is sufficient to support its findings.
The lack of evidence against Arroyo and the sufficient evidence against the current PCSO board of directors just make you wonder if the courts really have the right person in detention.
—FRIANNA MARQUEZ,
frianna_m@rocketmail.com