DOJ leaves it to Ombudsman to probe Nayong Pilipino execs

August 14, 2018

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will leave it to the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the sacked Nayong Pilipino Foundation executives over their involvement in an alleged irregular contract with a resort investor.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday while he has ordered the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel to review the contract on the $1.5-billion Nayon-Landing project of Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp. (LRPDC), the DOJ would not conduct a probe on liabilities of the NPF officials even if it would be established that the deal is anomalous.

Maria Fema Duterte, a distant relative of President Rodrigo Duterte, filed criminal and administrative complaints against her fellow NPF board members last May.

"A complaint with the Ombudsman for violation of the Anti-Graft Law against the erstwhile members of the board of Nayong Pilipino Foundation Inc. has already been filed, so that will not be a focus anymore of the DOJ review," the DOJ chief said.

The complaint against NPF board members led by chairperson Patricia Yvette Ocampo alleged that the amount of the contract was disadvantageous to the government, which stands to lose some P25 billion in 50 years.

Guevarra stressed that the probe of OGCC, which is under the administrative supervision of his office, is limited to the review on validity of the contract if it is disadvantageous to the government.

He said the OGCC review would not cover the approval by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) of a five-year provisional license for casino operations of LRPDC.

"Any license granted by PAGCOR could only be provisional in character, as the grant of a regular license would depend on the existence of a valid contract of lease between Nayong Pilipino Foundation and the prospective developer or operator," he explained.

Last week, Duterte fired all members of the NPF board and management due to a lease deal he called “gravely disadvantageous” to the government.

Under the lease contract, the LRPDC, a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Landing International Development Ltd., will develop a $1.5-billion resort in the NPFI property at Entertainment City in Parañaque City. DMS