Trillanes, Ejercito confident they are not in Napoles’ list

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Senator JV Ejercito. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines — To stop the guessing game, two senators called on former senator and now rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson on Thursday to make the list of public officials allegedly involved in the “pork barrel” scam public.

Lacson claimed Wednesday that more than a hundred government officials from the present and previous administrations, including at least 12 senators, have been mentioned in a draft affidavit of detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, which was given to him by her husband when they met last month.

“Senator Lacson would serve the public well if he would just release the document given to him. That way, the document would speak for itself,” Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV said in a text message.

Senator JV Ejercito said it would be better if Lacson or Napoles herself would release the names of those allegedly involved in the scam.

“(It’s) better than keeping the public hanging. Walk the talk so to speak,” Ejercito said in a separate text message.

Both Trillanes and Ejercito are both confident that they are not among those in Napoles’ list.

“Yes I am confident I’m not included in that list. Unless, of course, she would weave a tale that she wouldn’t be able to support,” Trillanes said.

Asked if he was not among the senators or congressmen (when he was still a member of the House of Representatives) included in the list, Ejercito said: “Very positive.”

“(I) Never knew Napoles, much more deal with her. (I) made sure my PDAF was used wisely,” he added.

PDAF is priority development assistance fund also known as “pork barrel” funds.

Ejercito then backed calls to continue the pork scam probe by the Senate blue ribbon committee, noting that its investigation only covered the 11 non-government organizations (NGOs) linked with Napoles.

“The COA (Commission on Audit) report stated that around 80 suspected bogus NGOs benefitted from the scam, so what happened to the 70?” asked the neophyte senator.

“If the administration is serious in getting to the bottom of this mess, all the other suspected bogus NGOs should likewise be investigated,” he further said.