De Lima: NBI has copy of Luy hard disk drive

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed on Wednesday that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had a copy of the hard disk drive of Benhur Luy, which contained the names of those who had transacted business with Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

“The NBI has a copy of that hard drive. We also have that, but we are having it authenticated,” De Lima told reporters.

Levito Baligod, Luy’s former counsel, on Wednesday said the former Napoles finance officer submitted his digital files to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in May 2013 and later to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Baligod said Luy signed each page of the computer printout of the files, numbering more than 2,000 pages. The files were subjected to a forensic examination by the NBI, he added.

“It’s in the possession of the DOJ. If the case is transmitted to the Sandiganbayan, that will be used as evidence,” he said.

Admissible evidence

He said the NBI had certified when the files were last modified. “In the rules of evidence, a document prepared in the course of one’s employment, that’s admissible as evidence,” he said.

De Lima said she had refrained from revealing the names of the people in Luy’s digital files because they were still subject to an investigation. “That’s a work in progress. That has been ongoing,” she said, adding that they would be released when the prosecutors decide to go to court.

De Lima noted that the Luy files covered Napoles’ deals from 2002 to 2012. She said the government’s priority was to prosecute people involved in the scam from 2007 to 2009, which was covered by a special review of the Commission on Audit.

Asked if she was aware that the hard disk listed 25 senators who had dealt with Napoles, De Lima replied: “There are names of course, because there are accounting records. Weren’t there accounting records that became the basis of our filing of cases?”

‘A list is just a list’

De Lima said Luy’s list and that given to her by Napoles last month, which purportedly also named lawmakers involved in the alleged diversion of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to ghost projects, were something that the government should consider in going after those behind the scam.

She stressed that “a list is just a list” if not backed by a duly executed and signed affidavit.

De Lima said Napoles had given her a duly executed and signed affidavit, but added that this was an initial document that covered transactions with Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. and five former congressmen already charged with plunder in the Office of the Ombudsman for the alleged misuse of their PDAF.

She said an “extended” affidavit was being prepared and that she was considering asking for an extension of the Thursday deadline given to her by the Senate blue ribbon committee to submit the document.

Baligod belittled the purported Napoles affidavit. “It is full of lies and I will not be surprised if the defense of Mrs. Napoles, assuming she was the one who made that document, is to plead insanity,” he told reporters after attending a Senate hearing on the proposed Whistle-blowers Act.

Baligod, however, said he couldn’t recall Luy telling him that his records included Drilon, among others.

4 lists circulating

At the same time, Baligod questioned Napoles’ moves releasing different lists to different persons, including President Aquino, Secretary Leila de Lima, Secretary Panfilo Lacson, whistle-blower Sandra Cam, and a newspaper.

“No normal person would give a list to different persons containing different names,” he said. “What’s the purpose of including different persons? There’s no other intention but to muddle the process and the minds of our people.”

Baligod, counsel for the other whistle-blowers, also questioned the credibility of Napoles’ affidavit.

He pointed out that there were senators whom she included and excluded. He said for instance that she included in her lists senators who returned the cash advance she gave them.

“Why didn’t she include the senator who received a Montblanc pen from her worth P150,000? That senator is liable under Presidential Decree [No.] 46,” he said.

Baligod also belied Napoles’ claim that 97 mayors were not charged in connection with the Malampaya fund misuse because he allegedly promised each that they would be dropped from the case in exchange for their support for the senatorial candidacy of De Lima.

He said that the Ombudsman had conducted field investigations and found out that the signatures of the mayors were forged. “She should mention one mayor, and I’ll prove she’s not telling the truth,” he said.