Witness tags Napoles in fertilizer fund scam

A witness in the pork barrel scam has tagged accused mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in another scandal, the fertilizer fund scam.

During Napoles’ bail hearing from plunder over the pork barrel scam before the Sandiganbayan Third Division on Friday, Merlina Suñas said Napoles was involved in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam through her corporation Jo Chris Trading.

Napoles’ Jo Chris Trading is said to be the second biggest distributor of liquid fertilizers under the Farm Input-Farm Implement program under the Arroyo administration in 2004.

Napoles’ firm was tagged as the distributor of allegedly overpriced and diluted liquid fertilizers.

The said fertilizer funds totaling P728 million were said to have been diverted to Arroyo’s campaign kitty that year to pay off favored local officials in an alleged vote-buying scheme. The program was implemented months before the 2004 presidential elections which catapulted Arroyo to the presidency anew.

Suñas was asked by Associate Justice Alex Quiroz if Napoles was in any way involved in the fertilizer funds scam, which has resulted in the plunder case of former Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo, former Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante (who was said to be the mastermind), and other public and private officials. The case remains pending in the antigraft court. Napoles is not included as respondent.

“Did JLN Corp., Jo Chris Trading, or any company controlled by accused Napoles engage in so far as the fertilizer fund scam is concerned?” Quiroz asked Suñas.

Sunas said it was Jo Chris which participated in the alleged fertilizer fund scam using the Napoles-controlled foundations People’s Organization for Progress and Development Foundation (where Suñas was president), Philippine Social Development Foundation and Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation.

Conduits

She said Napoles used these foundations as conduits to profit from the fertilizer funds.

When Quiroz asked if she personally knew Napoles talked with some personalities in the fertilizer fund scam, Suñas said, “May nakakausap pero hindi ko alam yung mga pangalan ng mga tao.”

Napoles snubbed the congressional investigations into the fertilizer fund scam in 2006 and 2008. She was thus not recommended to be included in the plunder charges over the said scam.

Napoles had apparently dipped her hands into bogus deliveries of fertilizers long after Arroyo’s dubious fertilizer program, Suñas said.

She said Napoles’ Jo Chris was an exclusive distributor of liquid fertilizers for AER Trading in 2004, or around the time of the alleged fertilizer fund scam.

Napoles then manufactured fake fertilizers in 2006 under the brand name Prime E.C. which were delivered to farmers in Region I, Suñas said.

Malampaya fund scam

“Many farmers alleged the fertilizer was not like the original,” Suñas said in Filipino.

Besides the fertilizer fund scam and the pork barrel scam, Napoles was also tagged in the Malampaya fund scam where storm victims were allegedly deprived of P900 million in aid that were instead coursed through 12 bogus Napoles-linked foundations. The Ombudsman has yet to file the plunder charges over this scam.

Napoles is detained for plunder over the alleged scheme of spending lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to ghost projects for kickbacks. She was also sentenced to life imprisonment for illegally detaining her entrusted finance officer Benhur Luy on suspicions of starting his own scam.

After his rescue from detention, Luy turned state witness and trained his guns at Napoles as he exposed the alleged corruption scandal.

The hearings over the PDAF scam have resulted in the detention for plunder of the following lawmakers—Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile, and former Representatives Rizalina Seachon Lanete and Edgar Valdez.