Napoles NGO got pork for Leyte town

JINGGOY ESTRADA

TACLOBAN CITY—Saying he wished Sen. Jinggoy Estrada would be removed from office, a former mayor of a Leyte town expressed shock at being investigated for a scam involving more than P4 million in public funds credited to Estrada’s pork barrel which his town was supposed to have received in 2009 but which ended up in a nongovernment organization (NGO) formed by alleged pork scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles.

Ernesto Fabi, former mayor of Babatngon town in Leyte, said he learned on Oct. 1 about the P4.8 million in aid purportedly from Estrada’s pork when a team from the Ombudsman came to see him to investigate his supposed involvement in the scam.

The Ombudsman team, led by lawyer Christopher Tarce, informed Fabi about a document bearing the former mayor’s signature supposedly acknowledging receipt of the P4.8 million in aid, marked as Estrada’s pork, for Babatngon.

Estrada refused to comment.

The public funds were supposed to have been given to the group Social Development Program for Farmers Foundation Inc. (SDPFFI) for livelihood programs in Babatngon. SDPFFI, which gave its address as South City Homes, Biñan, Laguna, turned out to be one of the bogus NGOs formed by Napoles, who is facing a plunder case for the theft of more than P10 billion in public funds with the connivance of legislators through the pork barrel system.

Estrada is among the legislators facing plunder charges with Napoles.

“I was shocked when they told me that I was involved in this scam and that I signed a document saying that I received financial assistance from Jinggoy,” said Fabi.

Fabi denied signing a “delivery report” for livelihood projects purportedly implemented by SDPFFI in Babatngon.

The former mayor said his signature on the receipt was forged. The document bearing Fabi’s signature, said the former mayor, was obviously fake. The document, also signed by a certain Aljerente Benito of SDPFFI, was dated May 21, 2009, at least two years after Fabi stopped serving as mayor of Babatngon.

Fabi was town mayor from 2001 to 2007.

The mayor in 2009, the year the receipt was supposed to have been issued, was Charita Chan, who is still mayor of Babatngon, a town some 30 kilometers from the regional capital of Tacloban City.

Fabi said he is definite about his town not receiving P4.8 million in aid from Estrada’s pork and is willing to cooperate in the Ombudsman investigation.

“I think Jinggoy should be charged with plunder and be removed from his seat as a senator,” said Fabi.

“It is unfair that innocent people like me and 159 others will be dragged and used by these people,” the former Babatngon mayor said.

One of the alleged 159 beneficiaries of the financial assistance, farmer Romeo Andig, also expressed shock after learning that he signed an acknowledgment receipt given by SDPFFI.

“I am a no read, no write person. But my name appeared with a very nice signature,” he said.

Andig, 48, a resident of Barangay (village) Pagsulhugon, Babatngon, was shown the document that listed him as one of the 159 farmer-beneficiaries.

Mayor Chan said she felt bad that her town was dragged into the pork scam.

Chan admitted that she had sought financial assistance from Estrada for various programs for her town.

“But he never gave us any assistance. That is why I was surprised that Babatngon was involved in this scam,” she said.

Estrada, the mayor said, landed as No. 2 in the town during the 2007 senatorial elections.