Luy didn’t guide Ombudsman probe on Valdez plunder – witness

MANILA, Philippines -The affidavits of whistleblowers in the pork barrel scam were not the main basis of the investigation on the alleged misuse of public funds by former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives representative Edgar Valdez, a graft investigating officer told the court Tuesday.

During the bail hearing for the plunder case of Valdez, graft investigating officer Raymond Balbuena of the Office of the Ombudsman told the Sandiganbayan that the affidavits of Benhur Luy and other witnesses did not guide them in their investigation.

He responded to the questions of Valdez’ lawyer Joel Ferrer who asked if Luy “guided” them in their investigation during the initial probe by the Ombudsman.

“The interviews with Luy and the others came in later when we gathered all the documents,” Balbuena said.

Ferrer asked if Luy guided them after Balbuena let slip that his team relied on Luy’s statement about the pork barrel funds deposits in a Landbank account.

But Balbuena later clarified that he did not entirely rely on Luy’s accounts.

Ferrer later asked Balbuena if his team verified the signatures on the pork barrel fund transactions in view of the fact that Luy and other witnesses’ admissions that they forged lawmakers’ signatures.

Balbuena said the witnesses forged the signatures of Valdez on liquidation documents. Meanwhile, the witnesses have said Valdez’ signatures on letters to the Department of Budget and Management and the implementing agencies were authentic.

Ferrer also told the court of Valdez’ defense that the special allotment release orders in the plunder complaint only covered the 2007 to 2009 transactions involving P82 million in Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF).

Following the whistleblowers’ statements that lawmakers got 50 to 60 percent kickbacks from Napoles, Ferrer said Valdez could not be held liable for plunder because the percent of commissions based on the Saro amount would not reach the P50 million threshold.

Valdez is detained at the Camp Bagong Diwa as he faces charges of pocketing at least P57.787 million in kickbacks from 2004 to 2010 from the PDAF scam. AC