10 lawmakers in 2nd batch of pork scam suspects
At least 10 lawmakers will be facing charges in the second batch of cases to be filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with the pork barrel scam allegedly perpetrated by detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.
Lawyer Levito Baligod, counsel for a group of Napoles ex-employees who have turned whistle-blower, said this was confirmed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima when the two met on Tuesday to discuss preparations for the filing of the next batch of complaints in the Office of the Ombudsman.
Speaking to reporters, Baligod said no distinction was made whether the legislators involved were from the administration or the opposition. If there is evidence against them, they will be included in the complaint, he said.
He said six whistle-blowers, including principal witness Benhur Luy, were interviewed on Tuesday by a panel of lawyers from the Office of the Ombudsman regarding the affidavits and documentary evidence that they had submitted for the first batch of pork barrel cases.
De Lima said the new cases would be filed by next week at the latest because the documentary evidence was “still being completed.”
According to the justice secretary, there is yet a third batch of complaints to be filed, this time involving non-PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) or nonpork barrel funds but still involving the allegedly fake nongovernment organizations (NGOs) operated by Napoles.
De Lima said the third batch of cases would involve not PDAF-funded projects but the special projects of certain departments that were coursed through Napoles’ NGOs and whose funds were also misused.
She said the DOJ was able to obtain documentary evidence on this third scam and that the scam also involved implementing government agencies that had used NGOs as partners.
Elaborating on the third batch of complaints, Baligod said that the whistle-bowers had asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate another scam involving non-PDAF projects.
He said the lawmakers were apparently also able to obtain funds outside of the PDAF and that the projects funded by these non-PDAF money were implemented by Napoles-linked NGOs that, as in the first batch of cases, similarly channeled the funds back to the legislators.—Christine O. Avendaño
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