MANILA, Philippines – The lawyer of a key witness in the P10-billion pork barrel scam urged legislators and government officials on Friday to disclose their transactions with Janet Lim-Napoles and her company, JLN Group of Companies.
Levito Baligod, lawyer of whistleblower Benhur K. Luy, said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM that those concerned should surface and confirm to the public what was behind their deal with the “most wanted businesswoman.”
Napoles, who allegedly channeled Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel funds of lawmakers into “dummy” nongovernment organizations (NGOs) is the object of a manhunt, along with her brother Reynald “Jojo” Lim, by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Janet Lim-Napoles. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
Baligod said that the officials needed to enlighten the people, especially the taxpayers, why they were receiving fund transfers and checks from the enterprise of the “high-profile fugitive.”
“I cannot specify the amount the legislators received from JLN but we are all left with a question whether the money being transferred from Napoles to the officials are their commission in the set up or just payments of her debt to them,” he said.
Baligod and Luy got hold of documents from 2003 to 2011 showing senators, congressmen and middle-grade government officials allegedly receiving money from Napoles’ “dummy” foundations.
Some funds were allegedly transferred from Napoles’ Metrobank and Landbank accounts to government agencies, among them the Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Technology Resource Center and National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR) and Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).
“They should debunk the allegations if they are not hiding anything or if they are not misusing the funds. We are hoping that the legislative branch will scrutinize this system,” he said.
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