'Dodie' Puno confident Ombudsman will clear him

MANILA - Administration Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Monday asked the Senate to file plunder charges against the former executive director of the Road Board, Rodolfo "Dodie" Puno, and other officials for "apocalyptic corruption" stemming from the alleged misuse of some P60.5 billion in road users' tax that should have gone to construction and repair of roads and drainage systems.

Santiago also warned Puno against hitting back, or else she would "expose skeletons in his closet, including his girlfriends" who supposedly benefited from the alleged fund misuse.

Santiago made the recommendation in a committee report which she sponsored on the floor.

She cited a Commission on Audit report on Puno's failure to account for the funds, and his refusal to justify the expenditure despite the COA's demands. (Read: Miriam: Probe Ronnie Puno's brother for graft)

Santiago also noted Puno's flamboyant display of wealth, implying this came from the fund that he managed from 2005 to 2008.

"Biruin mo, may-ari daw siya ng dalawang yate, maraming luxury condominiums, maraming kotse at binili pa ang mansyon ng isang mayamang Pilipino sa Boracay. Nasira na yata ang ulo sa biglang yaman at di na nag-iingat," Santiago said, citing published reports.

Santiago also took note of Puno's alleged moneyed pursuit of movie stars and beauty queens.

"'Pag inatake niya ako lahat ng skeletons niya sa closet pati mga girlfriends niya sasabihin ko," she said.

Puno: I will be vindicated

Puno, meanwhile, "welcomed" the charges, saying that he is confident he will be vindicated from the charges.

"With full faith in the Ombudsman and her office, I am confident that I will be vindicated from all these unfounded charges," Puno said in a statement released in response to Santiago's speech.

"The records of the Road Board will show that its actions were undertaken in accordance with law," Puno said.

He also said that Santiago has singled him out, showing the lawmaker's alleged bias against him.

"Sen. Santiago has laid bare her blatant personal bias by singling me out in radio and newspaper interviews as being the one at fault, and the committee report itself is the pre-ordained result of her desperate efforts for personal retribution," he said.

"I have never been a member of the Road Board but only served as its Executive Director from January 10, 2005 - April 30, 2008, acting in an ex-officio capacity as Board Secretary," he said.

"Sen. Santiago is fully aware that it was beyond my authority to allocate and disburse funds for projects. Yet, she has purposely included me in her recommendation for plunder charges in a crude attempt to exact political vendetta against my brother, DILG [Department of Interior and Local Government] Secretary Ronnie V. Puno, whom she blames for her defeat in the 1992 presidential elections," he said.

"I look forward to being given the chance to prove my innocence in the proper forum, which is a court of law," he added. -- with a report from Lynda Jumilla, ABS-CBN News