‘PORK’ WITNESS Benhur Luy, the principal witness in the P10 billion “pork barrel” scam, testified for the first time before the Senate blue ribbon committee on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2013, that Janet Lim-Napoles, his cousin and boss in the company he was employed in, was the mastermind of the scheme that involved the funneling of legislators’ “pork” or Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to fake non-government organizations formed by Napoles. Video by INQUIRER.net’s Ryan Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines – Benhur Luy, principal whistle-blower in the P10-billion “pork barrel” scam, on Thursday said he went to the Senate in 2011 to follow up documents at the office of a senator, whom he only described as “sexy.”
But “sexy” is a male senator, Luy said, in his testimony before the Senate blue ribbon committee.
Responding to Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s queries, the whistle-blower confirmed that he had been to the Senate with Janet Lim-Napoles in 2004, and also in 2011 and 2012.
Cayetano tried but failed to get from Luy which offices of the senators he had visited.
Key pork barrel scam witness Benhur Luy conferring with Justice Secretary Leila De Lima during a break in the Senate hearing on the scam Thursday. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.NET
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who presented Luy to the Senate, had earlier requested the committee to refrain from asking the whistleblower to name names.
But when Cayetano pressed to at least give the initials or nickname of the office of the senator he visited in 2011, Luy said: “Si sexy.”
But de Lima, who was seated beside Luy at the hearing room, suggested: “Pwedeng tanungin kung babae o lalaki? (May we know if it’s a male or female?)”
Luy then answered: “Lalaki (male).”
Senators Juan Ponce-Enrile, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. were identified by witnesses during last week’s hearing as among the legislators who had funnelled their priority development assistant fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” funds to questionable non-government organizations of Napoles.
Napoles, who is now detained for serious illegal detention of Luy, allegedly masterminded the pork scam.
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