ROXAS TO DE LA PAZ: SPILL THE BEANS
DON'T EVADE ARREST, EX-GENERAL TOLD

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas today warned former PNP comptroller Eliseo De La Paz against evading the warrant of arrest issued by the Senate foreign relations committee investigating the "Euro Generals" fund mess.

"Kung wala talaga siyang itinatago, mabuting humarap na si De La Paz sa Senado at sabihin na niya ang totoo kung saan ba talaga galing iyong 150,000 euros na nahuli sa misis niya (If he has nothing to hide, then he should face the Senate and spill the beans on the real source of the 105,000 euros found with his wife)," he said.

Roxas said the discovery that De La Paz lied about the amount of money seized from him by Moscow customs officials - another 45,000 euros was seized from him in addition to the 105,000 euros seized from his wife's handbag - only exacerbates the retired police officer's situation.

"Kung ako sa kanya, magsasalita na ako. Tingnan niya ang nangyari kay Joc-Joc Bolante. Tumakas at nagtangkang magtago sa Amerika pero dalawang taong nakulong doon. Pagbalik niya dito, wanted pa rin siya (If I were him, I will spill the beans. Look at what happened to Joc-Joc Bolante. He tried to escape to the US but he ended up behind bars for two years. And when he returned, he was still wanted by the Senate)," he added.

Roxas, vice-chairman of the Senate foreign affairs committee, and eight other senators signed the arrest warrant against De La Paz Monday after Senate President Manuel Villar made it a requirement that majority of the committee sign first the warrant before the Senate enforces it.

Roxas said De La Paz will also have to explain a lot of discrepancies in the testimonies of PNP chief Director General Jesus Versoza and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno on the source of the money, which spawned public speculations that this was "dirty money" as suspected initially by Moscow customs police when it was seized from De La Paz' wife.

"De La Paz's continued silence will bolster public speculations that the money was stolen from government coffers or came from jueteng money," he said.

According to Versoza, De La Paz allegedly took the P6.94 million from the PNP's intelligence funds before converting this to 105,000 euros. Initially, Versoza claimed it was just a simple cash advance by De La Paz.

The annual General Appropriations Act (GAA) specifies that confidential and intelligence funds could be released only upon the approval of the president.