Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito turn guns on Angara, DOJ
MANILA, Philippines–Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada turned the tables on his former colleague, Sen. Edgardo Angara, saying the latter was found by state auditors to have diverted his pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to his own foundation.
Estrada mentioned this on Wednesay after taking exception to a statement made against him in Angara’s new biography titled “In the Grand Manner” which was launched last week.
In the book, written by Jose Dalisay Jr., Angara described as “unfair” and “reckless” Estrada’s disclosure of a P50-million incentive given to 20 senators who voted to convict former Chief Justice Renato Corona. Angara said there was no talk of money or pork barrel funds before, during or after Corona’s trial.
Angara said the funds came from savings accumulated at the end of the year that would revert to the National Treasury if unused. He also said the chairpersons of the finance committees in Congress recommended to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President that “some of these savings (to) be allocated to lawmakers to support existing projects.”
“I take exception to the remarks of my former colleague, Sen. Angara, as I believe I was neither reckless nor unfair, but (making) a statement of fact,” Estrada said in a statement.
As this developed, Estrada’s half-brother Sen. JV Ejercito called on Justice Secretary Leila De Lima to file the other pending pork barrel scam cases to remove doubts that the Aquino administration is being selective in the matter.
Ejercito said the nonfiling of the remaining cases would be “unfair.”
Estrada earlier slammed De Lima for saying the filing of these cases would not be among her priorities, adding that the Justice Secretary was about to step down so she could run in the senatorial elections next year.
Estrada said De Lima was clearly only after him, Enrile and Revilla to bring down the opposition.
Estrada is currently detained in Camp Crame in Quezon City along with Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr., on charges of plunder and graft in connection with their alleged misuse of their PDAF.
Estrada said mentioned the P50-million incentive to the 20 senators who voted to convict Corona in a privilege speech titled “The Untold PDAF Story That the People Should Know” which he delivered on Sept. 25, 2013. In that speech, Estrada said the additional allocation was mentioned in a private and confidential letter of then Senate finance committee chair and now Senate President Franklin Drilon.
Angara, in his book, admitted that senators got “that much amount later, to spend for our development projects,” he added.”
Estrada said his exposé actually brought to light the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), parts of which the Supreme Court has since declared unconstitutional.
“Without (my) exposé, the people would not have known about the unlawful and arbitrary use of public funds by (Budget) Secretary (Florencio) Abad under the Aquino administration,” he said.
Estrada said Abad later admitted that the allotment for the senators was taken from the DAP.
“Nevertheless, let me reiterate my assertion that I stand by my decision in my vote to convict the former Chief Justice and assure our people that I was never influenced by this incentive which came after the fact,” Estrada said.
He said what he found “disturbing” was Angara’s statement that he was not sure where his P50 million allotment went, adding that probably it went to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
“Sen. Angara need not look far where he spent his fund allocation. Perhaps looking into the Commission on Audit’s Special Audit Report which made a finding that he funnelled his PDAF to his very own foundation, the Kalusugan ng Bata, Karanungan ng Bayan, Inc., (where he was listed as an Incorporator/BOD/Stockholder) may shed light into his uncertainty.”
