Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER file photo
Another affidavit of a whistle blower is needed before deciding on approving or amending the recommendations on the third batch of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam case.
“I am still waiting for a supplemental affidavit from a whistleblower on the issue of forgery,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters after her meeting with Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano, the official in charge of the special task force handling the pork barrel scam cases.
Justiniano earlier said they are finished with their investigation and ready with their recommendation for de Lima.
Among those included in the third batch are: Senator Gregorio Honasan III; Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Chief Joel Villanueva, a known ally of President Benigno Aquino III and will reportedly run for the Senate under the Liberal Party next year; and Representative Rufus Rodriguez, head of the House ad hoc committee that steered approval through his panel the controversial draft Bangsamoro Basic Law that calls for the creation of a substate under a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. There are a total of nine names in the third batch.
De Lima said the additional affidavit is for one of the lawmakers implicated in the third batch.
“I won’t tell you which lawmaker is the additional affidavit for which will address the issue of forged signatures,” de Lima said.
However, she did not specify how long her office will wait for the supplemental affidavit.
Early this year, de Lima has been under fire after saying the third batch of pork barrel scam complaints will probably not make it to her list of priorities.
The Department of Justice’s probe on the third batch started in 2013.
However, the filing of the case before the Ombudsman has been reset several times. De Lima said they are examining the defense raised by some of those implicated that their signatures were forged.
Complaint for graft and malversation are expected to be filed with the Ombudsman since, according to Justiniano, the amount of kickbacks which the lawmakers allegedly received did not reach the minimum amount of P50 million for plunder with P47 million being the highest amount in the third batch of cases. TVJ
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