(UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday said the recantation of witnesses against former speaker Martin Romualdez would not erase their statements, as investigators will examine both versions in determining which account is truthful.
“Recantation is not an eraser. In fact, it is additional evidence,” the Ombudsman said in a statement responding to Romualdez’s camp.
Romualdez’s lawyer and spokesman, Ade Fajardo, asked the Ombudsman to dismiss the complaint against the former speaker, citing the recantation of 32 witnesses, including alleged star witness Orly Guteza, and arguing that there was no one else credible who could provide solid evidence linking the lawmaker to the alleged flood control scheme.
The Ombudsman said the conflicting statements would instead have to be weighed against each other, as a recantation does not automatically invalidate the original account.
“Actually, it [recantations] means one of the statements is a lie,” the Ombudsman said, raising questions about which version the witnesses truly stood by.
It also questioned why some witnesses allegedly went into hiding after recanting and flagged reports that several witnesses were paid to withdraw their statements.
"Some people want to confuse the public about the meaning of recantation,” the Ombudsman added.
'No grounds'
“We see no grounds for it, so our prayer—our request to the Office of the Ombudsman—is for this to be dismissed, for the complaint against former Speaker Romualdez to be junked,” Fajardo said in Filipino in a statement.
Fajardo acknowledged reports that the Ombudsman has identified 28 additional witnesses against Romualdez but said the defense has yet to learn who they were.
“But up to now, we still haven't seen, read, or learned who these 28 witnesses are,” Fajardo said.
