Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—He is “confident” of his innocence, and would like the justice department to use whistle-blower Benhur Luy’s files as “leads in its quest for the truth.”
Thus responded Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya to the Inquirer banner story implicating him and several others to the P10-billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles.
“I have not received any amount, whether in cash or in check, as commission from Napoles or from any of her staff or agents in connection with the alleged various projects with the agrarian reform department or any government transaction for that matter,” added Andaya, who was budget secretary during the Arroyo administration.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala similarly denied dealing with Napoles and said he was “ready to face any investigation related to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam,” in which he was again being implicated.
‘Evidence, not innuendoes’
“I never dealt with (Napoles), even during my incumbency as a congressman,” the former representative of the second congressional district of Quezon province said in a statement, adding that an impartial probe, “one that would rely on evidence (and) not innuendoes,” would eventually establish his innocence.
Other agriculture officials have been implicated in the PDAF scam, among them Alan Javellana, former president of the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor); Manuel Jarmin, former executive director of the Livestock Development Council (LDC); Belinda Gonzales, former undersecretary for administration and finance; and assistant secretaries Ophelia Agawin and Salvador Salacup.
In a separate interview, Department of Agriculture spokesperson and Undersecretary Emerson Palad said Javellana had resigned as Nabcor president in 2011, while Gonzales was in a “floating” status, having been referred to the DA’s pool of career executives.
A source, however, said that Gonzales is currently in the United States.
“Salacup filed his resignation earlier this year, during the first quarter,” Palad said, adding that Jarmin is now in charge of a DA program related to the “reintegration” of overseas Filipino workers who are interested in investing in agricultural projects.”
No access
Agawin continues to function as assistant secretary for finance, although she no longer has access to records and processes related to the accreditation of and fund releases to nongovernment organizations.
Presidential Agrarian Reform Council officer in charge Teresita Panlilio, is serving out a six-month suspension that ends this month, but it’s unclear if she would return in the wake of new reports implicating her in the Napoles scam.
They have no idea as to Panlilio’s status, said Isabelita Estrada, who took over Panlilio’s position on Nov. 18, 2013. Calls to Panlilio’s cell phone had not been picked up.
Other officials named as having benefited in the scam include Hector Sales, DA director in the Bicol region; and Evangeline Poloyapoy, accountant at the DA regional field unit in Bicol. Sales was no longer with the department and no one knows where he is, while Poloyapoy was on fieldwork in Camarines Norte, DA sources said.
No comment
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chair Zenaida Ducut, who was also on the Napoles list, has not been picking up calls, the Inquirer found out. According to her aide, the ERC chair appreciated Inquirer’s gesture to get her side but said she would only comment once she gets hold of the complaint.
Rene Maglanque, a former Department of Transportation and Communications assistant secretary and incumbent mayor of Candaba, Pampanga, who allegedly received P207 million from Napoles, also declined to comment.
The Inquirer tried to contact the implicated ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp. (ZREC) officials, but Salacup could not be reached by phone while Agawin’s staff said she was in a meeting. With reports from DJ Yap and Riza Olchondra; Juan Escandor, Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon; and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon
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