MANILA – Former Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. denied stopping a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) surveillance operation against then-senator and now President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and actress Maricel Soriano in 2012.
Appearing before the Senate on Monday, Ochoa said he does not know former PDEA deputy director general Carlos Gadapan, to whom he supposedly gave the stoppage order, as alleged by former PDEA intelligence agent Jonathan Morales.
Ochoa also denied seeing a copy of PDEA’s alleged pre-operation document signed by Morales, which was leaked to various social media sites earlier this month.
“As I earlier mentioned, I don’t even know him (Gadapan). And I don’t recall of any occasion that we have met or even talked. So I completely deny that I have made those instructions as alleged,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa also said he did not know Morales and he has “absolutely no idea” why the former PDEA agent was implicating him in the halting of the supposed PDEA operation against Marcos and Soriano.
Morales claimed that the supposed operation against Marcos and Soriano did not push through because it was stopped by Gadapan upon the orders of Ochoa.
Ochoa also belied the insinuations over at the social media that he halted the operation against Marcos due to his close ties with former law firm partner and now First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
“That is not true, your honor,” said Ochoa when questioned by committee chairman, Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
Ochoa said Araneta-Marcos was his partner at MOST (Marcos, Ochoa, Serapio and Tan) Law Firm, but withdrew from the law firm when he was appointed executive secretary in 2010.
MORALES CITED FOR CONTEMPT
Meanwhile, the Senate public order and dangerous drugs cited Morales in contempt for “continuously lying” before the panel about his personal data sheet (PDS) when he was applying in PDEA.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada moved to cite Morales in contempt for allegedly “misrepresenting” himself in his PDS submitted to PDEA by indicating that he was not dropped from the Philippine National Police roll and was not dismissed and suspended from service.
None from the members of the committee objected Estrada’s motion, prompting committee chair Dela Rosa to approve it and detain Morales to the Senate detention cell./PN
