Republic of the Philippines

OFFIGE OF THE OTBUD'HAAgham Road, Diliman

Quezon City

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Ifiit I

MANUEL P. ME.IORADA

-versus-

FRANKLIN M. DRILONSenate PresidentRepublic of the PhilippinesPasay Cityx---- --------x

FOR: PLUNDER in violation ofSection 2, RA 7080

UNEXPLAINED WEALTHIn violation of Section 8

DISHONESTY, MALVERSATIONOF PUBLIC tr'UNDS, GRAVE

MISCONDUCT

COMPLAINT

Hon. CONCHITA CARPIO-MORALESOmbudsmanAgham Road, DilimanQuezon City

Madam:

I am filing a CRIMINAL COMPLAINT against FRANKLIN M. DRILON, Senate President,Republic of the Philippines for:

1. PLLTNDER in violation of Section 2, Republic Act No. 7080;

2. TINEXPLAINED WEALTH, in violation of Section 8, Republic Act No. 3019;

3. DISHONESTY, MALVERSATION OF PUBLIC FLINDS AND GRAVE

MISCONDUCT.

In support thereof, I have hereby attached my AFFIDAVIT containing the facts andcircumstances to prove the commission of these offenses together with its attachments.

Iloilo City for Quezon City, Philippines, October 4,2013.

Respectfully yollrs,

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Republic of the Philippines )

City of Iloilo )x---- ------x

AFFIDAVIT

I, MANUEL P. MEJORADA, of legal age, Filipino, rnarried, and a resident of No. 2 KasoySt., Block 11, Villa San Lorenzo Subdivision,Lapaz.Iloilo City, after having been dulvsworn in accordance with law, do hereby depose and say:

1. I am a journalist by profession. Previously, I had worked as Provincial Administratorof Iloilo from 2001-2010, and technical consultant of SENATOR FRANKLIN M.DRILON for the period September 1. 201O-June 30. 2010.

2. As Provincial Administrator of Iloilo, I was assigned as liaison officer of theProvince to the office of SENATOR DRILON, and as pad of my duties, Iaccompanied him during his visits to lloilo and I was present in most of his officialand personal activities in Iloilo during the years 2001-2010.

3. In the course of my present and previous work, I have uncovered information thatpoint to an instance of PLTINDER in the funding and implementation of a nobleproject to provide housing for the homeless and prima facie evidence forLINEXPLAINED WEALTH against SENATOR DRILON.

4. On the basis of such information, I am filing this complaint for PLLINDER,LINEXPLAINED WEALTH, MALVERSATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS,DISHONESTY, GRAVE MISCONDUCT and other offenses that may be establishedby the Honorable Ombudsman against SENATOR DRILON.

5. The facts and circumstances that I am narrating are drawn from personal knowledge,emails between myself and SENATOR DRILON, ne\sspaper stories taken liomonline archives.

COTJNT I(For PLIINDER as defined by Section 2, RA 7080)

6. On July 10, 2011, I communicated with SENATOR DRILON by emailr informinghim about an anomalous transaction involving the overpriced purchase of a 16.2-hectare agricultural property in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro. Iloilo City by city officialsled by then City Mayor Jerry P. Trenas.

7. In that email, I narrated to SENATOR DRILON that the city government, using hisPDAF which was coursed through the National Housing Authority (NHA), boughtthe aericultural property for the amount of P63,180,000 when its fair market valuewas pegged at only P17 per sqm., or a total of P2,754,030.00. The BIR zonal valuefor the property was P8,100,000. The transaction took place on January 25, 2006.

8. That same day, SENATOR DRILON. using the email address frank@drilon.comreplied to my email:

o'Boy, What was the fair market value? In the airport, the value per tax dec. was 12.50pesos per sq. meter. We paid 60 pesos. Just be certain. And accurate so you don'texpose yourself to libel again. SFMD"

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g. SENATOR DRILON, who used the initials SFMD as signature for his email,mentioned the "airport". It refers to the negotiation with landowners in the towns ofSta. Barbara and Cabatuan, Iloilo for the purchase of more than 200 hectares ofagricultural lands which subsequently became the site of the new Iloilo Airport ofInternational Standards. The negotiations took place sometime in 2002 and 2003. Iwas involved in the negotiations in my capacity as Provineial Administrator of Iloilo.

10. The "airport" agricultural lands were productive lands. And as compensation for thefarmers who were going to lose their source of livelihood, the national governmentagreed to compensate them for 4.8 times the fuir market value for their lands.

1 1. In this case for the relocation site, the properly was an idle agricultural land, prone tofloods, and at that time i.naccessible to transportation and public utilities. Thepurchase price was 22.28 times the fair market value.

12.Thenext day, July 11,2011, I emailed2 SpNatOR DRILON a copy of a newspaperstory' I had written about the overpriced purchase of the relocation site which waspaid from his PDAF coursed through the NHA.

13. SENATOR DRILON became involved in this transaction because atthattime, NHAhad no available funds to release to the Iloilo City Government as assistance for thepurchase of a relocation site. During one of his visits to Iloilo City, Iloilo Cityofficials led by then City Mayor Jerry P. Trenas met with him to seek his help.

14. I was present during that meeting sometime in March or April 2005. That meetingremains fresh in my memory because it marked the first time that Mayor Trenaspublicly met with SENATOR DRILON in Iloilo City for a meeting.

15. It was public knowledge that SENATOR DRILON was locked in a rivalry with thenDepartment of Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez, and Mayor Trenas was identifiedwith the latter.

16. Still, SENATOR DRILON agreed to help and directed his staff to prepare thepaperwork to assign the amount of P63 million to the National Housing Authorityfrom his PDAF. The amount was subsequently released in two tranches.

17. This is validated by a news story published in The News Today in its November 14,20054 issue which reported that an amount of P27 million as initial fund was releasedto the Iloilo City government.

18, It is manifestly clear from this exchange of email correspondence that SENATORDRILON came to know, if he did not know yet, about a highly anomalous transactionwith the overprieed purchase of the relocation site utilizing his PDAF.

19. His knowledge and awareness about the anomalous transaction was increased withthe story I emailed was the first segment of a three-part investigative report publishedin The News Today, a newspaper of general circulation in Iloilo City and the entireWestemVisayas region.

20.That story contained detailed information about how the anomalous transaction wasperfected.

21. OnJuly 20,2011, the issue became public after Mr. Rommel Ynion filed a case forplunder against Trenas, who was by then Representative for the lone district of IloiloCity, and other city officials before the Office of the Ombudsman involving thattransaction.

22.The criminal and administrative complaint was entitled, "Rommel S. Ynion versusJerry P. Trenas, Katherine Tingson, Nelson Parreno, Rony Firmeza, EduardoPenaredondo and Marilyn Inocencio".

23. Despite being informed about the glaring overpricing in the purchase of therelocation site utilizing his PDAF, SENATOR DRILON kept quiet, did nothing, and

' Upon checking my archives, I discovered that this and Annex "A" have been deleted apparently by receivingparty <frank@drilon.com>, I managed to save Annex "A" in PDF file previously,

'Annex "8" Print out of online archive of news article entitle d "P2.7-M raw land in Jaro sold for P63.2M" in the

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made no overt acts that would manifest his objection to the sarne, or bring the subjectmatter to the attention of the Commission on Audit or the Office of the Ombudsman.

24.The disinterest shown by SENATOR DzuLON to the obvious instance of plundergave credence to the public statements of the realtor-broker who facilitated thistransaction, Efren Gimeo, when he stated in a press conference on May 3,2010 thathe gave hefty bribes to officials involved in the deal.

25. This claim of Gimeo was mentioned in my story dated July 11,2011 (he said he gavePT.25 million to City Mayor Jerry Trenas, P3 million to other city officials involvedin the transaction, and another Pl million to a "close aide" of Mr. Trenas.).

26.In fact, Mr. Gimeo claims there was a death threat against him sometime in May2010 as reported in the May 7,2010 issue of The News Todays because a person hedescribed as "erstwhile powerful" in Iloilo City was mad his share of the conrmissionwas not fully paid.

27.Mr. Gimeo also claimed to have paid bribes to officials of the National HousingAuthority. He specified no amount.

28. Although there is no direct evidence that would point to the same, the fact thatSENATOR DRILON didn't as much as raise an objection to the apparent misuse ofhis PDAF strongly suggests that he had partaken of the bribes, or at the least,consented to the bribery involved in the transaction, making him an indispensableparty to its fruition because he provided the public funds from his PDAF.

29. A local columnist, Limuel Celebria, wrote in his column, "calumny", in the July 12,2013 issue of The Daily Guardian6:

"Or ask 89,,. Capt. Efren Gimeo, a radio reporter-turned realtor who brakered hesale of an agricultural land to the city government for relocation. The land wasconverted to residential and overnight its value swell to over P60 million. Every citygovernment fficial, including a senator, had a share of the pie. Some even askedfordouble their share. Gimeo, of course, is no longer talking about thisforfear of his life."

30. SENATOR DRILON had a duty to report the overpricing or initiated an investigation,for after all, as legislator who allocated P63 million from his PDAF, he is responsiblefor how the money --- taxpayers' money --- was spent.

31. This duty is clearly spelled out in the "Panunumpa ng Kawani ng Gobyerno" in theline that says, "Magsasalita ako laban sa katiwali -an atpagsasamantala", which everypublic otlcial and employee is supposed to know by heart and deed.

32.But he did nothing, and it raises the presumption that he profited from this transaction.33. To add insult to the injury, the amount disbursed by the National Housing Authority

was in the form of a loan which is to be repaid over a period of monthlyamortizations by the benefi ciaries.

34. It must also be underscored that the second sentence of Section 2, RA 7080 states:"Any person who participated with such public officer in the commission of saidplunder shall also be punished." (Underscoring for emphasis)

35. Without the participation of SENATOR DRILON in providing for the funds, theanomalous transaction could not have pushed through. His participation wasindispensable.

36. Based on the documents and calculations made, the overprice in the transaction wasFIFTY FIVE MILLION ONE HLINDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P55,1OO,OOO.OO)based on the actual purchase price of P63,200,000 and the BIR zonal valuation of theproperty of P8,100,000 (which is higher than the fair market value indicated in theTax Declaration).

37. If the overprice is based on the fair market value of P2.7 million, the amount wouldbe P61.5 million.

t Annex "D" Print out of archive article from The News Today entitled "Realtor in danger" in its May 7, ZOLAissue.u Annex "E" Print out of archive article from The Dailrr Gr rardian aniirla.l ',Tham ir ri^r n^.i+i^^c,, in lr..^ ^^r,,*^

38. Mr. Gimeo did not speciS how much was the total in bribes he had paid. But thequestion may be asked: Where did the bulk of the overprice go?

COUNT II(For Unexplained Wealth in violation of Section 8, Republic Act No. 3019)

39. SENATOR DRILON is culpable for "Unexplained Wealth" for accumulating realand personal assets that are grossly out of proportion to his income as Senator andother legitimate businesses, particularly during the period 2004-2007 in the 13th

Congress and2}fi-2012 in the 15tr Congress.40. In a published report, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) under

the heading "Money Politics"T, it was shown that the Statement of Assets, Liabilitiesand Net Worth (SALN) from the time he was elected Senator in 1995 to the yearending December 31,2011 contain the following relevant information:

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SALN as

of Position Real AssetsPersonalAssets Liabilities Net Worth

Dec-11 Senator 38,349,534 28,L68,066 21,580,000 44,937,604

Dec-10 Senator L5,849,534 22,593,196 5,000,000 33,442,730

Jun-10 Senator 15,849,534 22,942,25O 9,000,000 34,79L,784

Jun-07 Senator 11,556,201 10,903,949 0 22.46A.149

Dec-06 Senator 11,555,201 70,348,725 0 21,904,925

Dec-05 Senator 11,556,201 16,475,272 7,000,000 21_,031,473

Dec-O4 Senator 11,556,201 8,830.082 7,000,000 13.386.283

Dec-03 Senator 1L,556,2A7 8,934,561 7,5t5,999 72,974,763Dec-02 Senator 11,556,201 9,091,929 8,048.499 12,599,629

Dec-O1 Senator L1,556,201 9,248,84s 9,015,999 Ll,789,446Jun-01 Senator SALN not on fileDec{0 Senator 11,556,201 9,L24.128 9,015,999 11,664,330

Dec-99 Senator 11,556,2O1 8,835,642 9,515,999 LO,875,844

Dec-98 Senator 326,000 9,344,915 15,999 9,654,916Dec-97 Senator 326,000 9,259.549 15,999 9,474,409Dec-96 Senator 326,000 9,259,549 302,155 9,293,394Dec-95 Senator 326,000 tL,167,1.95 641-696 10,851,489

Jun-95 Senator SALN not on file

41. The Philippine Star, published a summary of the SALN frled by Senators of theRepublic for the year ending December 3l,2}l28,and established that SENATORDRILON reported his SALN as follows:

Assets: P85,816,972

Liabilities: P34,062,609

'Annex "F' prinlout of online digital PCIJ report on "Money politics,,t Annex "G" print out of on[ine digital archive of The Philippine Star dated May 22,2oj.3forstory headlined,"Villar richest, Chiz poorest senator"

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Net Worth: P51,754,363

42.Based on the foregoing data,it can be established that the wealth of SENATORDRILON, while he was Senator of the Republic, posted "spikes" or sudden surges inthe size of his wealth between the period December 3T, 2004 and December 3 1 , 2005anda steady climb from June 30,2010 to December 31, 2012.

43. SENATOR DRILON's net worth shot up by P7,645,190 in 2005 which was basicallyan increase in his personal assets. This represents a hefty 57.1 17o rise in his net worthin a period of one (1) year.

44. SENATOR DRILON'S net worth registered a steady climb in the short period fromhis assumption to office on June 30,2010 to December 31, 2012.

a. In the six (6) months period from June 30, 2010 to December 31, 2070,SENATOR DRILON's net worth rose by P2,650,946, or 8.60/o.

b. Between December 31,2010 and December 31, 2011,his net worth sharplyincreased by P1 1,494,87A, ar 34.37Yo.

c. The momentum slowed down a bit, but still went up, from December 37,2011to December 3 1 , 2012, with a rise of P6,8 16,7 63, or 15 .I6yo.

45. Section 2 of R.A. 1379[41] states that "whenever any public officer or employee hasacquired during his incumbency an amount of property which is manifestly out ofproportion to his salary as such public officer or employee and to his other lawfulincome and the income from legitimately acquired property, said property shall bepresumed prima facie to have been unlaufirlly acquired.,,

46. Section 8 of R.A. 3019 provides that the fact about unexplained wealth "shall beground for dismissal or removal".

47 . The "spikes" or sudden upsurge in the net worth of SENATOR DRILON are primafacie evidence of unexplained wealth.

48. It is noteworthy to mention that SENATOR DRILON's assets went up to pg5.gmillion based on The Philippine Star summary of the 2012 SALN of Senators fromP66.5 million the previous year. That is a big jump of P19.1 million in just twelvemonths. That is an increase of 28.7o/o.

49. SENATOR DRILON does not have extensive financial and business interests thatwould justit/ the giant leaps in his net worth from year to year, or even in a matter ofsix months. His publicly known legitimate income is definitely NOT sufficient toafford such acquisition of wealth.

CONCLUSION

50. The facts and circumstances narrated above establish that the essential elements forPLUNDER under Section 2, RA 7080 and LINEXPLAINED WEALTH underSection 8, RA 3019 are present, and I respectfully pray that this Honorable Officeindict SENATE PRESENT FRANKLIN M. DRILON for these offenses.

51. In addition, the commission of the above offenses involve DISHONESTY, GRAVEMISCONDUCT, MALVERSATION OF PUBLIC FTINDS and other such offensesas may be determined by this Honorable Office, and this indictment ca6y the same.

52. There is a general sense of frustration and despair among many people in Iloilo Citythat these wanton plunder and effichment in public office havi gone unchallenged, orif complained about before the Ombudsman, do not even come close to holding thepersons aceountable.

53- In his blog, "Hole of Justice", Iloilo cable TV talk show host afld columnist peterJimenea wrote in a September 1, 2013 poste:

"senator Franklin Drilon, whether he admits it or not, is widely believed the one

coddling and protects the undesirable underlings he had been tapping. But thistolerance to misdeed is malum in se - evil in itself."

54. This complaint is being filed to erase that perception that graft and corruption in thehighest levels of government enjoys impunity and must in fact be confronted in themost aggressive manner. The Aquino administration's "matuwid na daan" platform is

rendered meaningless when the Senate President of the Philippines is himself deeplyinvolved in the comrption.

55. I am executing this affidavit to attest to the truthfulness of the foregoing facts and tosupport my CRIMINAL complaint against SENATE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN M.DRILON for (a) PLLINDER, (b) UNEXPLAINED WEALTH, (c) DISHONESTY, (d)

GRAVE MISCONDUCT, and (e) MALVERSATION OF PUBLIC FLINDS.

IN WITNESS whereof, I have hereby affixed my signatur "rhi, {L{ of October 2013 inIIloilo City for Quezon City, Philippines.

k;{.k...^AffiantDu* ro3. v-0tu0l

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this day of October 2013. I hereby

certify that I have personally examined the affiant and that I am fully satisfied that he

voluntarily executed and understood his affi davit/complaint.

L" JALBUNAPUBLIC

FOR THE CITY