ShareThisMANILA— Justice Secretary Leila De Lima has designated a panel of prosecutors to conduct a preliminary investigation on the plunder charges filed by former Solicitor General Frank Chavez against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and three others for their alleged diversion of more than P500 million funds supposedly intended for the medical benefits of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Arroyo
Aside from Mrs. Arroyo, now a Pampanga congresswoman, also charged in a 23-page complaint filed by Chavez were former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary and erstwhile Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, former president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) Francisco Duque III, and former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Virgilio Angelo.
In a Department Order, De Lima named Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva as chairman of the panel, with Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Elizabeth Inton Santos and Lilian Doris Alejo as members.
Alejo said that even though no date yet has been set to start the preliminary investigation, the initial hearing may commence next month.
She added that once Mrs. Arroyo and the other respondents are subpoenaed, the date of the preliminary investigation will be immediately scheduled.