DAGUPAN CITY—Abono Representative Conrado Estrella III on Friday said he did not sell “a large tract of land” to detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains of the P10-billion pork barrel scam.
Estrella was reacting to reports quoting Marina Sula, a whistle-blower who had been assigned to keep records of Napoles’ properties. Sula claimed that the Napoles land, which was bought in Pangasinan province, formed part of Napoles’ real estate assets estimated to be worth P5 billion.
“I never sold any lot to Mrs. Napoles. Never. I think the reporter should check the real owner of the lot purchased by Mrs. Napoles,” Estrella said in a statement e-mailed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“My full name is Conrado Masonsong Estrella III and [I am] married to Sandra Estrella, and I don’t own any lot that was bought by Mrs. Napoles,” the Abono representative said.
“If our names are not reflected in the title, then the property is not ours,” Estrella said. “I am not aware of any transaction involving the sale of a property to Mrs. Napoles or any member of her family.”
“We would appreciate it very much if the writer could thoroughly check the title of the land sold to Mrs. Napoles to find out its real owner. Certainly, I don’t own that land,” he said. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon