Luy’s records at a glance
Whistle-blower Benhur Luy. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Second of a series
MANILA, Philippines—By the time the pork barrel scam was exposed last year, the public funds described in the digital records of Benhur Luy as proceeds of “sales” far exceeded the estimated P10 billion that allegedly landed in the various bank accounts of Janet Lim-Napoles, her companies and their subsidiaries.
The amount was culled by the Inquirer from more than 500 special allotment release orders (Saros) for more than 100 lawmakers, including former and current members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, on the hard disk drive (HDD) containing records of Napoles’ business transactions.
The funds were from projects for the Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform, fertilizer projects, GMA rice inputs, insertions, farm-to-market road projects and the Malampaya gas fund intended for typhoon victims.
The digital records of Benhur Luy, Napoles’ finance officer before he turned whistle-blower, were made available to the Inquirer when his family visited the Inquirer on April 27, 2013. The records showed Napoles had access to not less than P1 billion kept in placements, foreign currency and savings accounts.
Napoles’ husband, Jaime, a former Marine major, contrary to reports that he was not a part of his wife’s activities, received a commission of P200,000 from a DA project in 2005.
The records were so meticulous they covered anywhere from purchases of lanzones and McDonald burgers to a car for boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s rumored girlfriend.
The Benhur Luy files also showed:
— Napoles purchased $4.1 million in one day in 2006 and sent it abroad to buy properties and finance activities of her daughter who was residing overseas.
— The money used to purchase the foreign currency, including British pounds, was withdrawn from bank accounts of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) controlled by Napoles, which were depositories of projects funded by the congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
— JLN Corp. paid P11,852.50 in annual income tax for 2005; Jo-Chris Trading, P3,450; and JC World Travel, P5,345.
— Napoles paid for the Mazda car of Krista Ranillo, rumored ex-girlfriend of Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao and daughter of former actor Mat Ranillo.
— For every inspection of the Department of Transportation and Communications, which sometimes happened twice a month from 2004 to 2006, the inspector received P20,000 “SOP.”
— Energy and Regulatory Commission Chair Zenaida Ducut, before and after she was appointed as ERC head by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, served as the top agent of Napoles both in the Senate and the House.
— Ducut’s media blitz when she was appointed as ERC chief was paid for by Napoles.
— Lawmakers asked Napoles for kickback advances charged to future projects.
— Napoles gave a check for P345,000 to Mario Lim as donation for a classroom in China.
— Napoles’ transactions were a family affair for some lawmakers. Regular clients were father and son, mother and son, wife and husband, siblings, brothers, cousins and in-laws.
— Pauline Labayen, a senior staff member of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, signed communications to regional directors of the Department of Public Works and Highways informing them of allocations for farm-to-market roads funded by PDAF.
— Local government units (LGUs) were regular conduits of PDAF projects chosen by lawmakers.
— Favored heads of LGUs also repeatedly designated Napoles NGOs as beneficiaries.
— A P3,000 purchase of lanzones by Catherine May Santos, a member of the staff of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was entered in the pork books.
— Livelihood starter kits like beauty kits, soap and costume jewelry making modules, dressmaking, hairdressing, silk screen printing, security, technical, medical and farm kits were the favorite products of the Napoles NGOs for ghost deliveries.
— P1 million birthday gift for “Sexy” on March 16, 2012.
Napoles owns Gintong Aral Publishing House, also used as conduit for party list A Teacher Ikaw at Ako Foundation also owned by Napoles.
— Napoles employees used code names for lawmakers according to their personality or advocacy: Kuryente, Gerera, Khulit, Bulaklak, Bonjing, Tuna, Inay, Tanda, Dahon, Sexy and Pogi, Jessica Daan, Olga Tossan.
— Napoles allocated P275,000 SOP for the Commission on Audit and the Ombudsman given through her lawyer Freddie Villamor on Jan. 30, 2006.
— Cash of P202,000 for Lucy Gomez for the purchase of lot.
— P2 million worth of shares for 20 percent of Commander Shoppers Drug care of Alice Villanueva.
— Napoles’ payment for the purchase of jewelry in hundreds of thousands of pesos also came from bank accounts of NGOs that were depositories of PDAF funds.
— Napoles also owned Nutri-Growth company as a supplier of fertilizer products.
— P72,000 for the purchase of McDonald’s products on April 5, 2006.
FIRST PART OF THE SERIES
Complete records of Benhur Luy bared
