Palace on new pork scam involving LP solon: We leave it up to Ombudsman

NORTH Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Malacañang on Thursday said it will leave up to the Office of the Ombudsman a new pork scam involving an ally lawmaker of President Benigno Aquino III in the ruling Liberal Party as one of the alleged masterminds.

“We leave it up to the investigating body to assess and evaluate the complaint filed,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma told reporters.

In affidavits submitted by lawyer Levito Baligod to the Ombudsman on Wednesday, LP ally and North Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco was tagged as one of the 15 operators of bogus nongovernment organizations which allegedly received P500 million in pork barrel allocations from 20 lawmakers.

READ: Woman lawmaker behind new 500-M pork scam

Coloma said the Aquino administration has always been “consistent and clear from the onset” in its position on corruption allegations involving governement officials, even its own allies.

“Let the evidence point to the direction of the inquiry,” Coloma said.

In his letter, Baligod said the new P500-million pork scam used “exactly the same modus as that of Janet Napoles.”

Among the current and former lawmakers accused of channeling their pork barrel to fake NGOs were Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr., and former Sen. Edgardo Angara. Yuji Vincent Gonzales/TVJ

READ: 20 lawmakers tied to new P500-M pork scam