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MANILA, Philippines – Days after some military officials were identified as having been beneficiaries of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines maintained Tuesday that the list that had been published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer was “unofficial”.
“We will wait until the news is verified by the government, for example the Department of Justice,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala.
“As of the moment the list is still unofficial and we will wait for the time to respond appropriately,” said Zagala.
Named on the list published by Inquirer over the weekend were retired Lieutenant General Edgardo Espinosa, former commandant of the Navy Marine Corps, Colonel Natalio Torreno, Captain Edmund Yurong, and Colonel Luciardo Obena.
According to the report taken from records of whistleblower Benhur Luy, the officials received cash from a “Kevlar payroll” which was named as such because of the purchase of kevlar helmets bought with pork barrel funds coursed through Napoles’ bogus non-government organizations.
“We will respond when the time comes and that the list has been confirmed,” he said.
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