MANILA, Philippines–Sen. Jinggoy Estrada called on the Palace on Tuesday to investigate Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and other government officials implicated by Janet Lim-Napoles in the alleged pork barrel scam.
Estrada made the call even as NBI Director Virgilio Mendez earlier described the two Napoles affidavits as mere scraps of papers that were not supported by documentary or corroborative evidence.
Fairness
“Fairness dictates that they should also investigate those mentioned in the Napoles testimony, or the Napoles affidavit, or in the Benhur (Luy) files,” Estrada told reporters.
He asked why the investigation into the pork barrel scam had focused only on him, as well as on Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr.
The three senators are facing plunder charges, which the Office of the Ombudsman is set to file in the Sandiganbayan, in connection with the alleged channeling of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to ghost projects. The three have denied wrongdoing.
‘Tell it to the Marines’
“If they would jail us, they should also be jailed,” Estrada said of Abad and other administration officials named in the scam. “It should not be always just the three of us.”
Told that Abad had denied any involvement with Napoles, Estrada said, “Tell it to the Marines.”
Quoting Napoles’ statement in her affidavit to the Senate blue ribbon committee, Estrada said that Napoles had identified Abad as her mentor.
“If he is really the mentor, then he would know how it’s done. We don’t know because he is the secretary of budget and the files are in the Department of Budget and Management,” he said.
Estrada also said that executive officials had the bigger participation if ever in the scam because they were the ones who released the money. Lawmakers, he said, merely endorse projects to the implementing agencies.–With a report from Christine O. Avendaño