In a complaint letter sent to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia, Quezon City Against Corruption (QCAC) Chairman Janno Orate said Crisologo admitted in an interview last October that he gave the TUPAD funds to his assistant to be given to 20,000 constituents, who were supposed to receive the funds.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires was also sent the same complaint.
"So what I did is just I gave it to my assistant, i-kwan mo na... sabi ko... i... i- distribute mo na among sa mga nangangailangan. At least, kung merong hindi makakatanggap hindi ako may kasalanan... sya! Unfortunately, vung assistant na pinagkatiwalaan ko, pinagkwartahan naman niya," Crisologo said in the interview.
(So what I did was, I just gave it to my assistant. I told him, 'Go ahead... distribute it among those in need.' At least, if someone doesn’t receive anything, it’s not my fault... it’s his! Unfortunately, the assistant I trusted took advantage and pocketed the money instead.)
Orate questioned Crisologo's purpose for having the TUPAD funds distributed, until it was misappropriated by his assistant,
During a weekly press briefing on Friday at Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City, QCAC counsel Jesus Falcis reckoned that if the funds were misused, Crisologo could be liable for plunder.
"If napagkwartahan yung ₱119 million (If the ₱119 million was pocketed), that constitutes plunder," Falcis added.
According to Falcis, they managed to get witnesses only this year as they feared possible exclusion from the government aid.
Orate denied that politics was involved in their complaint against Crisologo. He said Crisologo's admission was already enough for the case to prosper.
QCAC said that if Crisologo was serious in discharging his role as an elected public official and if he was innocent of any criminal participation, he should have filed criminal cases against his assistant who mishandled the money.
The group says Crisologo's remarks could be used as evidence as it is an admission against interest, thus, making him liable.