‘Kuryente’ transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa for plunder over pork barrel scam

MANILA, Philippines—Former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (Apec) Rep. Edgar Valdez was transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig where he would be detained for plunder over the pork barrel scam.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has informed the court that Valdez, 64, was transferred on Thursday night from the Philippine National Police General Hospital where he was confined for his erratic blood pressure and sugar level upon surrendering to the Sandiganbayan on Feb. 25.

READ: Apec party-list representative in pork scam surrenders

The antigraft court had ruled to transfer the suspect to the nearest BJMP facility but deferred the commitment order until Valdez’s condition improves.

The Fifth Division in its latest resolution dated March 5 said the commitment order may now be implemented since the hospital notified the court that Valdez’s health has improved.

“The updates reveal an improved condition of said accused that renders his continued hospital confinement no longer necessary … Let accused Edgar Valdez be immediately committed to the BJMP in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig City,” the resolution read.

Valdez is accused of pocketing at least P57.787 million in kickbacks from 2004 to 2010 in the scam of pillaging lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) in ghost projects for kickbacks.

Principal whistle-blower Benhur Luy said payoffs for Valdez, whose codename was “kuryente,” were made in Napoles’ office in Ortigas. Valdez represents electric cooperatives in Congress.

In its indictment, the Ombudsman said Valdez endorsed his PDAF projects to Napoles-controlled foundations which implemented projects like livelihood programs, farm inputs and farm implements, agricultural starter kits, technology transfer training via video courses and printed materials, vegetable seeds, gardening packages, knapsack sprayers, concentrated fertilizers, and other tools and equipment, that never went to their beneficiaries.

“(The) PDAF of Valdez was never used for the intended projects as these were considered ‘ghost’ projects, with fabricated documents submitted for its liquidation. The mayors and municipal agriculturists reported that they never received anything from the office of Valdez, or from any of the project partners,” the Ombudsman said.

“In fact, many of the names appearing on the lists as farmer-recipients were neither residents nor registered voters of the municipalities,” the Ombudsman added.