Luy insists Cunanan got P960K in commission from pork barrel scam

Benhur Luy stares at Cunanan as he denies receiving money from Napoles’ staff, contrary to Luy’s statement. KRISTINE SABILLO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—There was no sweeping statement of approval—such as a “buzzer-beating and game-winning three point shot”—to characterize Dennis Cunanan’s testimony on Thursday at the Senate.

Benhur Luy stood in the way of the director general of the state-owned Technology Resource Center (TRC) in his appearance before the Senate blue ribbon committee investigating an alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam.

Cunanan, who is among 38 people being investigated in connection with the racket allegedly engineered by detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, denied that he benefited from the scam and has applied to become a state witness.

But Luy, the principal whistle-blower and former Napoles aide, stood by his earlier statement that Cunanan received at least P960,000 in kickback from the alleged diversion of the congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to ghost projects.

Cunanan, who volunteered to submit to a lifestyle check and to open his bank accounts to prove he didn’t benefit from the scam, submitted his statement of asset, liabilities and net worth (SALN) to the committee, but got questioned on how he could rent a house for his family at the swank White Plains subdivision on a P65,000 monthly salary from TRC.

After the hearing, reporters asked Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, the committee chair, if Cunanan’s testimony was similar to the basketball term he used to describe the evidence provided by Ruby Tuason during her appearance before the panel last month.

“Number one, we will have to review it, evaluate it, scrutinize it. Number two, we will have to compare it to the testimonies of other witnesses, with transcript of the past hearings and Number three, we will have to take into account the demeanor of Mr. Dennis Cunanan,” said Guingona. “And then after we evaluate all that can we only come to a conclusion.”

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who subjected Cunanan to intense questioning, told reporters she found Cunanan a “credible witness” in spite of the inconsistencies in his testimony.

“What muddles the issue is he’s trying to prove he’s innocent,” Santiago said. “But in my judge’s mind, it’s possible a witness may be false on some aspects of his testimony but might be credited with truth-telling in the major aspects of his testimony. In other words telling not the whole truth. That does not cancel his entire testimony.”

Guingona in the last hearing of the committee immediately praised Tuason, a former Napoles bagman who fled to the United States after the scam broke out. He said Tuason’s testimony as a “three-point shot that wasn’t only a buzzer-beater but also a winning shot.”

Tuason testified that she personally delivered kickback money to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s chief of staff Jessica Lucila Reyes.  It was the first time that a witness said she personally gave funds to a senator implicated in the scam.

In reply to a question from Sen. Francis Escudero, Luy recounted that Cunanan once went to Napoles’ office to pick up P960,000.  He said he was asked by Napoles to prepare the money.

“Since I was not the one who personally dealt with Sir Decu [Cunanan’s nickname] … I handed the money to Ms. Evelyn De Leon in the conference room,” Luy said. “In my records, based on the voucher, as far as I remember, it was perhaps an SOP [another term for a share in the proceeds of the corrupt practice],” Luy added.

De Leon is a Napoles employee.

Cunanan said he was TRC’s deputy director-general at the time. “The one receiving what supposed to be are commissions is the head of agency concerned,” he said. Cunanan said that he wouldn’t have verified and validated documents concerning the lawmakers’ PDAF allocations if he received any amount from Napoles.

“If I was an accomplice in this issue, why did I, when I was already the head of the agency, have this NGOs verified to the extent of having them blacklisted?” Cunanan said.

“With my conscience and with the conscience of my family, it’s difficult to admit something that isn’t true,” Cunanan added, with his voice cracking with emotion.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III told Luy that his testimony on Cunanan’s purported payoff might have been misleading, pointing out Luy said that he gave the money to De Leon.

“You didn’t see [money change hands], right?” Pimentel asked Luy.

“Afterwards, sir, when [Cunanan] left the conference room he was already carrying the paper bag [containing the money],” Luy said.

Pimentel then turned to Cunanan, who adamantly denied receiving any commission.

“If I received something and brought with me funds or money from them, why did they have to lobby with my office to take out projects that we were processing?  Why was it that when investigations were needed, we investigated them one by one?” Cunanan added.

Pimentel asked Justice Secretary Leila De Lima how the conflicting claims would be resolved.

“I’m not doubting, of course, the story of Benhur and then the (Cunanan) denial because we have been consistently asking him (Luy) about that and he (Cunanan) is denying it,” De Lima said. She said this was the first time she heard about the Cunanan kickback. She promised to look into it.

Sen. Grace Poe got an admission from Cunanan that as TRC head, he was earning P63,000 a month and that he was paying electric bills worth P10,000 to P11,000 a month. The SALN he submitted indicated his net worth at more than P2 million.

Poe said she doubted the house Cunanan was renting from his brother at the White Plains Subdivision would only need electricity worth P10,000  to P11,000 a month.

“With a P63,000 salary, P10,000 for electricity, and you still have to pay for car stickers and gasoline, it’s difficult to understand,” Poe said.

Poe asked Cunanan if he could bring his brother’s income tax return in the next hearing to establish whether he could afford to buy such a property in expensive White Plains.

“I just want to see some consistency here.  I’m reminding you that this is your opportunity to reveal all that you know.  The difference with you and the others that testified, they admitted to committing a fault, a deficiency and said sorry,” Poe said.

“I’m not saying Ruby Tuason’s testimony was perfect but she herself said that she would voluntarily return [her part of the loot],” Poe added. With a report from Nancy C. Carvajal

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