Ombudsman Merceditas N. Gutierrez disclosed that she has formed two panels that will investigate the twin cases.

Gutierrez vowed to look deeper into the cases and file appropriate charges in court if evidence warrants it, "regardless of who gets hurt.’’

A panel chaired by Over-all Deputy Ombudsman Orlando C. Casimiro was assigned to consolidate all complaints filed against officials in the aborted deal to speed up the resolution of the cases.

"There are too many complainants submitting more or less the same complaints against the same individuals,’’ Gutierrez noted.

She stressed that the probe was initiated to erase misconceptions that her office is sleeping on its job.

"Definitely we will be filing cases if we have the evidence. We don’t want to lose our cases in court,’’ she said.

Gutierrez said that her office has been conducting fact-finding and preliminary investigation on the cases even before she formed the two panels.

She said Lozada will be invited to the hearings to shed light on his allegations that he was abducted by armed men when he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong last Feb. 5.

The other panel chaired by lawyer Dennis Garcia of Ombudsman’s military and other law enforcement offices section will probe the alleged abduction.

Gutierrez said that she will ask the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to submit to the Ombudsman the transcript of testimonies of witnesses and documents it gathered to help the anti-graft body in its investigation.