Malverse, not plunder, raps for next batch

The second set of charges involving the theft of public funds through lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) has not reached plunder levels, according to the lawyer of the whistle-blowers in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

“The charges against the lawmakers involved would be malversation and not plunder because the government funds involved did not reach the threshold for plunder of P50 million,’’ lawyer Levito Baligod told the Inquirer in an interview.

Malversation is a bailable offense unlike plunder, which is nonbailable and is punishable with life imprisonment.

The second set of lawmakers will also be charged for the misuse of the PDAF, Baligod said.

He said that no less than 10 lawmakers will be recommended for prosecution for malversation of their PDAF, or pork barrel, through the nongovernment organizations (NGOs) controlled by Janet Lim-Napoles.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are scheduled to file the charges on Tuesday.

In September, the NBI and DOJ filed plunder charges against at least 60 individuals, including a former president, three incumbent senators and their senior staff, congressmen, department heads and other agency officials for the misuse of the PDAF and the Malampaya gas fund.

Also charged in the Office of the Ombudsman was alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Napoles, her brother Reynald Lim, nephew John Lim and longtime assistant Evelyn de Leon.

Baligod said that like the first set of PDAF cases, the second set would have the NBI and DOJ use as evidence the testimonies and documentary evidence submitted by the whistle-blowers who are former employees of Napoles, led by principal witness Benhur Luy.

The documents from the Commission on Audit would also form part of the evidence.

“Just like before, the basis for the charges would be the documentary and testimonial evidence of the witnesses,’’ Baligod said.

Earlier charged with plunder in the Ombudsman for the misuse of the PDAF were Napoles, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. and former Representatives Rizalina Seachon-Lanete and Edgar Valdez.

They were charged with allegedly diverting P10 billion in PDAF funds to dummy aid organizations and ghost projects to obtain kickbacks.

Others on the charge sheet are Jessica Lucila Reyes, Enrile’s former chief of staff; Richard Cambe, Revilla’s senior staff member; Ruby Tuason, Enrile and Estrada’s liaison officer; Pauline Labayen, Estrada’s former appointments secretary; Jose Sumalpong, Lanete’s chief of staff; Jeanette de la Cruz, Lanete’s district staff member; Erwin Dangwa, former Rep. Samuel Dangwa’s chief of staff, and Carlos Lozada, Dangwa’s staff member.

The former heads of government corporations charged were Alan Javellana, former president of the National Agribusiness Corp.; Gondelina Amata, president of the National Livelihood Development Corp.; Antonio Ortiz, former director general of the Technology Resource Center (TRC); Dennis Cunanan, former deputy director general and now director general of TRC, and Salvador Salacup, former president of ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp.

Also earlier charged were NGO officials supposedly beholden to Napoles.