Tuason, Reyes appeal participation in ‘pork’ scam before Ombudsman

Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes  and Ruby Tuason INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Provisional state witness Ruby Tuason and co-accused Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes on Monday filed motions for reconsideration before the Office of the Ombudsman over their supposed role in the ‘pork barrel’ scam, the Inquirer Radio 990AM reported.

Tuason and Reyes were among those held liable by the Ombudsman for their role in the scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles. Also held liable for plunder and graft charges were senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

Tuason, the former social secretary of deposed president Joseph Estrada, testified before the Senate as provisional state witness against Sen. Estrada. She claimed to have personally delivered bags of money to Sen. Estrada’s office in the Senate. She left on March 2 for San Francisco, California.

Reyes, the resigned chief of staff of Enrile, was accused of being the middle person between Enrile and Napoles. She was reported to have left on Aug. 31, 2013 and is now believed to be in the United Kingdom or Morocco.

The pork barrel scam is an elaborate scheme of siphoning lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Funds to questionable NGOs for non-existent projects. These funds were instead were allegedly converted to kickbacks among the senators, their personnel, and Napoles.

Napoles is currently detained at Fort Santo Domingo in Laguna for the non-bailable illegal detention case.

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