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PRESS STATEMENT
13 October 2006
Saddened and dismayed by the
recent resolution of the Ombudsman clearing all COMELEC officials of
criminal liability in the MegaPacific case, the Transparency and
Accountability Network (TAN), the largest anti-corruption network of
NGOs, academic and research institutions, is reconsidering its
relationship with the Office of the Ombudsman.
TAN sits on the Ombudsman's
Steering Committee for the
€2.9 million
European Commission project to strengthen its prosecutorial and
investigative capacities. It is the civil society representative in
the Ombudsman-led National Anti-Corruption Program of Action and is
working on a Lifestyle Check Tool with the cooperation of the
Ombudsman.
TAN invited
the Tanodbayan to a dialog with civil society to better explain
their resolution. After agreeing to participate to talk to members
of civil society, Tanodbayan reversed herself and backed out of the
dialog, saying she had nothing further to say outside of the
contents of the resolution and her statements to the press last
October 10.
Without the
Ombudsman, TAN will be holding a forum on the Ombudsman's decision
on October 16, 2006, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Sapphire Room of the
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ortigas Center. The forum is entitled, "A
Merciless Analysis of the Ombudsman Resolution on the MegaPacific/COMELEC
Case." |
