CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia denied speculations she pressured Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol to clear her name in the ongoing investigation of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) project.

“You know very well whom I supported to become deputy ombudsman and it was (Ombudsman Director Carla) Tanco. So in that sense, I don’t see how any pressure can be applied on Deputy Ombudsman Apostol, who himself was welcomed by those aspiring for the post,” Garcia said.

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Out of delicadeza, she also said she did not want to comment on the “internal conflict” within the anti-graft office.

Tanodbayan Merce-ditas Gutierrez missed a scheduled visit to Cebu yesterday morning, amid questions on her deputy ombudsman for the Visayas’s handling of the investigation on the CICC.

She instead sent a representative, Atty. Emilio Gonzales III, the deputy ombudsman for the military and other law enforcement offices, to the signing of an agreement with other agencies and groups to form the Multi-Sectoral Anti-Corruption Council.

In her press conference, Governor Garcia refused to comment on the reported closeness of her brother, Government Service Insurance System President Winston Garcia, to Apostol.

“I can’t speak for Winston even though he is my very dear brother,” she said.

Capitol consultant Atty. Rory Jon Sepulveda pointed out that since the CICC project was completed by January 2007 and the governor won her second term in May that year, the fact-finding cannot lead to any administrative case against her.

Reelection absolves public officials of any administrative liabilities, under the Aguinaldo doctrine.

Sepulveda added that the Capitol remains confident the CICC transactions, under review by the Commission on Audit, will be found above-board.

The governor also said that Apostol’s appointment was welcomed by Tanco and Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Santiago—who aspired for the same position—and “that, in itself, speaks volumes of his integrity.”

Reporters wanted to ask Tanodbayan Gutierrez yesterday about Deputy Ombudsman Apostol’s not acting on the Final Evaluation Report (FER) submitted by the three anti-graft investigators, including a civil engineer and an accountant, after three years of inquiry.

Despite Tanco and Santiago’s endorsement of the recommendation, Apostol wrote his own report and sent both to the Tanobayan for action, in supposed compliance with an administrative order.

“Confused”

But in an ABS-CBN report, Apostol said he sent it to Manila because he was confused by the findings, as he “is no expert.”

Apostol has admitted he disagreed with the findings of the panel.

Sources inside the agency said he wanted the governor cleared of the allegations, a charge that he has since denied. He has instead ordered an investigation to weed out the “non-team player.”

When pressed, he said he wanted to leave the decision to the Tanodbayan and that this was also in compliance with Administrative Order (AO) 65, which Gutierrez issued on June 6, 2008.

The order states that preliminary investigation and administrative adjudication of cases involving high-ranking public officials, including governors and vice governors, are “hereby transferred and delegated to the Preliminary Investigation and Administrative Adjudication Board of the Overall Deputy Ombudsman.”

The wording, however, clearly does not include fact-finding investigations and the approval of final evaluation reports.

Apostol, when approached by reporters yesterday, acknowledged that fact-finding investigations are indeed within the purview of the sectoral office “100 percent.”

He said he simply wants to pass on the decision to Manila.

He instead asked the media to “help fight corruption by protecting the image and the integrity of the ombudsman.

“Sana i-angat natin ang image ng ombudsman (Let us boost the ombudsman’s image),” he said.

He also denied having owed favors to the Garcia family in exchange for getting appointed.