THE REQUEST of public lawyers to suspend Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida V. Acosta will be decided on by the Office of the Ombudsman, according to the Department of Justice. Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said aside from the request of the PAO lawyers, there is also a complaint filed against Ms. Acosta pending before the Ombudsman. “We will leave that to the Ombudsman,” he said. PAO lawyers submitted an anonymous statement to the Office of the Ombudsman asking for the suspension of Ms. Acosta and forensics team chief Erwin Erfe for allegedly defrauding the government. The statement was an intervention to the complaint filed in May by Wilfredo M. Garrido, Jr. against the two for falsification of public documents, malversation of public funds, illegal use of public funds, grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and grave abuse of authority. Among the grounds cited by Mr. Garrido is the illegality of the creation of the PAO Forensic Laboratory, claiming it does not have any mandate from Congress. Mr. Guevarra said he cannot comment on the allegation in the complaint, but noted that Ms. Acosta mentioned that the creation of the laboratory was approved by the Department of Budget and Management. “(T)hat’s all I can say… the matter is under investigation,” he said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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