Villanueva cries identity theft in pork barrel misuse charge

More than the issue of jurisdiction, Senator Joel Villanueva wants his name cleared for the alleged misuse of “pork barrel” funds when he was a congressman, saying his identity was just “stolen to commit this fraud.”

“I want my name cleared because I am not responsible for the illegal use of this fund. My identity was stolen to commit this fraud,” Villanueva said in a text message.

“They used fake signatures and letterheads. And this is an important issue. Because in this digital age, it is very easy to manufacture fake documents. It is also very easy to destroy individuals’ credibility and reputation,” he said.

The senator was reacting to the Senate legal counsel’s advice to the chamber against implementing the dismissal order by the Office of the Ombudsman, saying it has no jurisdiction over a member of Congress.

In a 15-page opinion dated November 17, Senate Legal Counsel Maria Valentina Cruz said the dismissal order in connection with the allegedly anomalous use of Villanueva’s P10 million “pork barrel” when he was still a congressman “cannot and should not be implemented on both procedural and substantive grounds.”

READ: Don’t implement dismissal order on Villanueva, Senate told

“While I am glad that I can continue to serve the country, I also want my name cleared as I didn’t commit any crime against the Filipino people. I am a victim of identity theft and am still hoping and praying Ombudsman sees that,” said Villanueva, who has already filed a motion for reconsideration on the Ombudsman’s order.

Villanueva has repeatedly denied receiving the said amount when he was still a member of Congress as representative of the Citizen’s Battle Against Corruption or Cibac.

“This an old case when I was a representative of Cibac in Congress. As far as I can remember, as a minority congressman then, I did not receive that amount,” he said in a statement after the Ombudsman issued his dismissal order.

“In addition, the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) has already made a conclusion that the signatures on the related documents were forged. One of the documents even used a Buhay partylist letterhead, when I was representing CIBAC partylist,” the senator added. CDG/rga

READ: Sen. Villanueva ordered dismissed from public service over ‘pork’