Sandiganbayan enters ‘not guilty’ plea for Andaya in graft raps
Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. INQUIRER.net file photo / CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan Third Division has entered a “not guilty” plea for former Camarines Sur 1st District Rep. Rolando Andaya in the cases of graft and malversation of public funds he is facing.
This was after the Andaya refused to enter any plea during his scheduled arraignment on Friday.
Andaya and several other individuals were accused for allowing the Department of Agrarian Reform to allocate around P10 million worth of public funds to Abundant Harvest for Peoples Foundation Inc., (AHPFI), back when he was budget secretary in 2009.
The money was allegedly sourced from the controversial P900-million Malampaya funds that originally intended to bankroll energy projects but was expanded to support Malacañang’s programs under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
AHPFI is one of the bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) created by convicted pork barrel mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.
Napoles, her children Jo Christine and James Christopher, brother Reynald Lim, nephew Ronald John Lim and other Napoles employees also face 97 counts of graft and malversation.
All of them were accused of falsifying documents from local government units to allegedly justify the diversion of the discretionary funds to Napoles’ NGOs, which implemented ghost projects. /jpv
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