AFP has no comment on PDI report yet

MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines will not comment just yet on an Inquirer report that said Marine officials were among those who received money from alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, AFP spokesman, said the military would wait for the official report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the case.

“We prefer to use official channels,” he said. “We prefer to wait for the official DOJ list.”

Zagala said all the officers mentioned in the Inquirer report, based on the computer records of Napoles’ former finance officer, Benhur Luy, had retired.

Luy’s files mentioned former Lt. Gen. Edgardo Espinosa, former commandant of the Marine Corps; Colonels Natalio Torreno and Luciardo Obena; and Capt. Edmund Yurong under the so-called “Kevlar payroll.”

The records showed that these officers received monies from Napoles while they were on trial for the 1998 purchase of Kevlar helmets worth P3.8 million that did not follow the bidding specifications. The contract was awarded to Napoles.

The Sandiganbayan acquitted Napoles and the military officers following the trial from 2004 to 2008. The antigraft court convicted Napoles’ mother, the late Magdalena Lim.

According to the Luy records, Napoles’ coaccused in the Kevlar case and other military officers received a total of P14 million during the four-year trial, ostensibly from the lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel, that the businesswoman had by then allegedly diverted to ghost projects and kickbacks.—Nikko Dizon