MANILA, Philippines – Ruby Tuason’s testimony that she personally handed commissions to Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada is a “very, very strong” evidence that could pin him down in the alleged P10 billion “pork barrel” funds scam, Senator Teofisto Guingona III said on Thursday.
Tuason narrates how she is able to pass through the Senate without her bags being checked. PHOTO by Kristine Sabillo/INQUIRER.net
“What happened today is very, very important for the prosecution of the case. For the first time, we have a witness giving testimonial evidence that she personally handed over kickback money to a senator,” Guingona said after the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee, which he chairs.
“Dati-rati ‘yung mga testigo, ‘yung mga whistleblowers nagsasabi na sila’y nakapag-hand over ng mga pera sa mga chief-of-staff, hanggang dyan lang. But for the first time, we have someone who has testified that she handed money personally, and that is a very important point, [she] personally handed over [the] money to a senator,” he pointed out.
During the hearing, Tuason, a co-accused in the plunder case over the “pork barrel scam,” narrated to the committee how she personally delivered Estrada’s alleged “kickbacks” to his office at the Senate.
Asked if Tuason’s testimony was enough to pin down Estrada, Guingona said it would be up to the court, “but in my opinion it is very, very strong evidence.”
“To top it all, she even pointed out the faces of two of the personnel, the staff of Sen. Estrada, ‘yong mga sumasalubong sa kanya pagdating siya dito (those who escorted her when she arrived here),” he added.
But asked again if it was possible that his committee would file charges against fellow senators, Guingona said: “We still have to finish the hearings so let’s finish the hearings.”
“My point really being, malakas ito, matindi ito. May ebidensya eh, siya nagsasabi. She was already in the States, away from the clutches of the law here in the Philippines, bumalik pa siya,” he added.
Unlike Estrada, however, Tuason’s testimony did not directly link Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile to the scam, said the committee chairman.
“In my opinion, it clearly establishes it was going through the chief of staff,” he said, referring to Enrile’s former chief of staff, Atty. Jessica “Gigi’ Reyes.
Guingona also pointed out Tuason’s testimony that she had never discussed the “pork barrel” funds with Enrile.
Asked then if this Thursday’s hearing had pinned down Estrada only but not Enrile, Guingona said: “That’s the way it seems to me. That’s the way she was putting it.”
“But you must take into account the circumstantial evidence in the case of Sen. Enrile. But please bear in mind these testimonies are still unfolding. This will not be the last hearing because we are still going to call so many names and people as requested by some senators,” Guingona added.
RELATED STORIES
Tuason: I was always five percent
Ex-Estrada aide Ruby Tuason faces Senate ‘pork’ probe