Masbate governor seeks bail for plunder case

MANILA, Philippines – Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete has asked the Sandiganbayan to allow her to post bail for her plunder case over the pork barrel scam.

In her application for bail, Lanete said she should be granted bail, a non-bailable offense, because she claimed there is no strong evidence that she conspired with accused mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles to rake in kickbacks.

Lanete also assured the court that she will not flee from the charges because she remained confident that the evidence of guilt is not strong.

“The rationale is that if the evidence of guilt is strong, the accused has a greater incentive to flee… Here, there is no showing that the evidence against Lanete is strong,” the motion read.

She said that she has never fled the country even though she faces threats to her life because of the intense political rivalry in Masbate.

“There have been previous attempts on her life… Yet, none of these threats to her and her family’s lives have caused her to flee or go into hiding,” the motion read.

“Masbate is her home. She has nowhere else to go,” it added.

Lanete is accused of pocketing P108.405 million allegedly siphoned from her Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) from 2004 to 2010 when she was Masbate representative.

In its complaint, the Ombudsman said Lanete misused P112.29 million of PDAF from 2007 to 2009. Principal whistleblower Benhur Luy in his ledger noted that Lanete from 2004 to 2010 received P108.405 million in kickbacks, of which P73.065 million were siphoned from her PDAF from 2007 to 2009.

In its indictment, the Ombudsman said “Lanete continuously endorsed the implementation of her PDAF-funded livelihood and agricultural projects to questionable NGOs associated with or controlled by Napoles.”

“(Lanete’s) P112.29 million PDAF was anomalously used for livelihood projects, financial assistance to farmers, farm inputs and farm implements, skills training and distribution of livelihood kits in nail care, wellness, massage and candle- making. Several Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) were entered into between Lanete, (Technology Resource Center), (National Agribusiness Corp) and the NGO-partners,” the Ombudsman said.

Lanete is detained at the female dormitory of Camp Bagong Diwa with Napoles and Gigi Reyes, the aide of accused plunderer Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.