What Went Before: Napoles’ generous donations to priests, nuns

MANILA, Philippines—Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, gave generous donations to priests and nuns, according to the digital files of principal whistle-blower Benhur Luy.

Luy’s entry on May 10, 2007, under cash and check disbursements of Napoles’ JLN Corp. showed that a Metrobank check for P2.5 million was issued to former Quiapo church rector Msgr. Josefino Ramirez.

Ramirez, in a statement, said the amount was only P2 million, not P2.5 million, and was donated by Napoles to the Caritas Salve Savings and Livelihood with Values Education Credit, a microfinance program under Caritas Manila.

He added Napoles gave P434,451 (as recorded in Luy’s entry for Oct. 16, 2008) for his plane fare and those of four Chinese priests representing China at the World Apostolate Congress of Mercy in Rome. Ramirez said he attended the congress as coordinator of Divine Mercy for Asia.

Ramirez, who retired two years ago, also received donations amounting to P800,000 from Napoles on several occasions, according to Luy.

Ramirez explained that the amount was spent for various expenses incurred by 14 batches of Chinese priests and nuns taking Church renewal courses in the Philippines from December 2011 to August 2013.

He also admitted that the Napoles family hosted a surprise birthday party for him and invited approximately 300 friends and former parishioners as guests.

At the same time, Luy’s records showed that from 2004 to 2010, Napoles distributed “stipends” totaling P344,000 on several occasions for “priests/nuns, deacons.”

In August last year, the archdiocese released a letter that Ramirez sent to Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr., chancellor of the Archdiocese of Manila, explaining his involvement with Napoles’ foundation.

Ramirez said he met Napoles’ late mother, Magdalena Luy Lim, “an ardent devotee of the Divine Mercy,” when he was parish priest of Binondo in 1992.

Lim supported Church programs such as the Pantawid Gutom Feeding for the street people and malnourished children both in Binondo (1992-2004) and Quiapo (2004-2007) parishes, according to Ramirez.

He added that Lim continued to support Church programs for the elderly and for prisoners in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa when he was transferred to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Mandaluyong.

When Lim died in 2008, her family, relatives and friends continued to contribute in her memory to the now-referred Magdalena Luy Lim Charity Foundation in the Service of Divine Mercy Inc., Ramirez said.

Special audit

A special audit conducted by Commission on Audit (COA), released last year, indicated a massive abuse of the pork barrel from 2007 to 2009 alone. The COA report was released after the Inquirer series on the P10-billion pork barrel scam started on July 12 last year.

Last October, the COA demanded the return of at least P7 million in public funds, credited as pork, which were spent on projects that bypassed bidding procedures and financed upon the request of legislators despite the objection of the accountant of the town that was supposed to benefit from it.

The audit agency issued a notice of disallowance of payment for the projects to Mayor Flerida Antonio-Alberto of Virac, Catanduanes, her husband former Mayor Jose Alberto II and these officials of the NGO Gabay at Pagasa ng Masa Foundation Inc. (Gabay)—Neriza Gador and Marilou Ferrer.

The notice of disallowance was also addressed to party-list Representatives Rodante Marcoleta (Alagad) and Julieta Cortuna (A Teacher).

In January this year, COA Chair Grace Pulido-Tan confirmed that notices had been sent to Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Gregorio Honasan that they have to return the millions of pesos in pork barrel allotments to them that were illegally diverted to bogus nongovernment organizations.

The notices of disallowance to the four senators, and some others, concerned at least P6 billion of their pork barrel entitlements that went to the questionable NGOs from 2007 to 2009.—Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives