CEBU CITY -- Criticized after reports came out that he instructed investigators to look for evidence to clear the governor from allegations on the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), the deputy ombudsman is launching another probe.

This time, Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol wants to find out who leaked the information.

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“This person is not competent to be an employee of the office of the ombudsman,” he told journalists. “He is not a team player.”

At Cebu City Hall, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he was disappointed with what happened in the CICC case.

“I’m just very demoralized, what else can I say? I don’t know all the details but I know that transaction stinks. She (Governor Gwendolyn Garcia) spent one hour explaining to the media that the CICC costs P500 million then know it’s P800 million diay, hello?” Osmeña told reporters.

As that developed, a former graft investigator explained Thursday that not resolving the investigation before the May 2010 elections will lead to the administrative absolution of elected officials linked to the case.

“The Aguinaldo Doctrine says any elected official charged administratively is considered absolved from any liability if re-elected,” lawyer Alvin Butch Cañares said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu.

Even if the elected official loses, the expiration of his term of office renders the anti-graft office without any authority to impose any administrative sanction even if warranted by the investigation.

The situation, Cañares said, is similar to that of former Mandaue City mayor Thadeo Ouano and incumbent Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza over the Asean lamppost case.

The two are only indicted criminally because Ouano was no longer in public office by the time the case got filed and Radaza got re-elected as mayor in May 2007.

“It will not (stop) the fact-finding investigation, but it limits the outcome to the filing of a criminal case even if an administrative charge is also warranted based on the evidence,” he said.

But Apostol, in an interview with reporters, does not know what it was all about, saying Garcia cannot even be charged administratively whether there is evidence to warrant it.

“Right now, it is already doubtful. It happened (construction of the CICC) before the elections in 2007. If we talk about administrative liability, the Aguinaldo doctrine will already apply,” he said in a dyAB report.

Apostol is instead focusing his attention on who leaked the information that he wanted the governor cleared and that this was why he disagreed with the findings of the three-person fact-finding panel that looked into the issue for three years.

He also cited his duty to protect public officials from harassment.

The findings of the panel reportedly came supported by, among others, Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago.

“Assistant Ombudsman Santiago is only my assistant in the office. I am the head of the office. Whatever happens, I am most responsible,” he said.

Santiago, in an interview Wednesday, confirmed that Apostol has issued an order but declined to comment, saying all inquiries should be directed to Apostol.

Apostol reiterated his denial on the alleged instruction to look for evidence clearing the governor.

“How can you look for evidence if there is no evidence? When you look for the evidence, it is to pin her down,” he said.

On his disagreement with the findings of the panel, Apostol cited his authority.

“I have that authority under the Constitution and under the law to approve, reverse or modify the panel. That is my authority. Otherwise, I have absconded,” he said.

He stressed that disagreement among investigators is normal, adding that even Supreme Court (SC) justices have dissenting opinions.

He again defended his position to send the recommendations of the panel and his own memorandum on the subject to Manila, saying this is in compliance with Administrative Order 65.

The order, signed by Tanodbayan Merceditas Gutierrez on June 6, 2008, provides that cases involving high-ranking public officials are transferred to the Preliminary Investigation and Administrative Adjudication Board of the Overall Deputy Ombudsman.

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

Osmeña, meanwhile, complained that there is still no feedback on the documents he gave the Ombudsman-Visayas and the Commission on Audit to back his claim that the CICC was built using scrap iron used to construct the Cebu South Coastal Road.

Osmeña, however, said that he would not make any move against Apostol despite his stand on the CICC issue.

“We cannot recommend to replace him because it’s a Constitutional body, it’s beyond anybody’s reach. I don’t like to comment on that anymore, you know I’m very biased. Everybody knows how I feel about the matter,” he said. (KNR/With LCR/Sun.Star Cebu)