MANILA, Philippines – Just check the document published by the Commision on Elections (Comelec), Malacañang on Friday told people asking if President Benigno Aquino III received campaign money from Delfin Lee.
“Well, the lists of contributors and donors have been published by the COMELEC; and I think you can see it from there whether he is a campaign contributor,” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.
Lacierda said he did not have information on the donors.
The statement came after Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) founding chair Dante Jimenez claimed that he received information that Lee, who was detained on charges of syndicated estafa, was among the President’s biggest campaign contributors.
Jimenez added that Aquino should not have lambasted Senior Superintendent Conrad Capa because he headed Task Force Tugis, which caught the fugitive Lee.
Aquino’s Statement of Election Contribution and Expenditures released by the Comelec, does not list the name of Lee among the President’s donors during the 2010 elections.
Asked whether it mattered if Lee contributed or not, Lacierda said there is already a pending case before former.
“We have never shied away from prosecuting anyone that has been charged. So, the DOJ, insofar as the government is concerned, will prosecute its case against Delfin Lee,” the spokesperson said.
RELATED STORY
Delfin Lee gave funds to Aquino 2010 campaign—VACC