De Lima: No double standards in probe of 3rd batch of pork cases

THERE is no double standards in the government’s investigation on the third batch of pork barrel scam cases, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Wednesday.

Some sectors accused de Lima of sitting on the third batch of pork barrel scam cases because some of those involved are administration allies.

The DOJ chief was specifically criticized for accepting the forgery defense of respondents who are friendly to the Aquino administration.

Only three senators, all from the opposition, have been charged with plunder before the Sandiganbayan. They are Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

Revilla raised the forgery defense but de Lima said the senator was pointing at findings of a private expert.

In the third batch of cases, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) director general Joel Villanueva was included but he claimed that his signatures in documents were forged.

Aside from Villanueva, de Lima said there are other officials in the third batch with similar claims.

“In this case, it was the questioned document division of the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) that concluded that the signatures were fake,” de Lima explained.

Villanueva is a member of the ruling Liberal Party of President Aquino and is said to be in the senatorial lineup of the administration ticket in next year’s general elections along with the DOJ chief.

“We go back to the point that these documents were admittedly prepared and forged by the whistle-blowers as part of the arrangement and the scheme. So that will be part of the analysis of the team and will be included in their final recommendation,” she said.

Final recommendation is expected to be submitted on Thursday.

Last month, de Lima had said that the third batch of PDAF cases was no longer a priority of her office. But after drawing flak from various sectors, she took back her words and said the cases would be finalized in two weeks.

Aside from Villanueva, two other administration allies were reportedly in this third batch, namely, Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and former Pangasinan Rep. Rachel Arenas.

Senator Gringo Honasan was also reportedly among those tagged by whistleblowers. AC