A witness in the pork barrel scam told the Sandiganbayan on Thursday that the representative of Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete once visited Janet Lim-Napoles’ office and asked about the availability of money.
Lanete is one of several accused of plunder for allegedly receiving kickbacks from Napoles, purportedly the mastermind of a P10-billion pork barrel scam.
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During Lanete’s bail hearing, Marina Sula, a former property custodian of Napoles, said she personally saw Lanete’s chief of staff Jose Sumalpong at the JLN Corp office in Discovery Suites, Pasig City.
She also overheard Sumalpong, who is at-large for plunder, talking to Benhur Luy about money.
“Tinatanong niya si Benhur Luy kung available na ba ang pera,” (He was asking Benhur Luy if money was already available) Sula said.
It’s unclear however if Sumalpong was referring to kickbacks.
Sula added that Sumalpong called up Napoles to submit pertinent documents.
Luy, the principal whistleblower, has tagged Lanete and Sumalpong of receiving kickbacks from Napoles in the alleged scheme of pilfering lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to ghost projects for kickbacks. Lanete was then Masbate congresswoman.
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Sula also tagged Lanete as signing memoranda of agreements with Napoles-linked bogus nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and implementing agencies for the PDAF projects.
Sula who worked for Napoles for nearly two decades also said she administered the registration in the Securities and Exchange Commission of 20 bogus NGOs allegedly used by Napoles to implement ghost projects.
She also said she opened up the bank accounts of the Napoles NGOs and deposited money given by Napoles.
Accused of conniving with purported pork barrel scam mastermind Napoles, Lanete is alleged to have pocketed P108.405 million siphoned from her PDAF from 2004 to 2010.
In its complaint, the Ombudsman said Lanete misused P112.29 million of PDAF from 2007 to 2009. Luy in his ledger said Lanete from 2004 to 2010 received P108.405 million in kickbacks, of which P73.065 million were siphoned from Lanete’s 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 is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig with fellow suspect Atty. Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, the chief of staff of detained senator Juan Ponce Enrile.