Twists and turns

The political teleserye involving Janet Lim Napoles and the alleged shamelessly systemic and wholesale pilferage of a number of legislators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and Various Infrastructure including Local Projects (VILP) budgets is expected to take a number of unexpected twists and turns in the coming days and weeks.

A recent twist allegedly involves Camarines Sur’s Arnulfo Fuentebella, who had served as house speaker and deputy speaker, respectively, during the previous Erap and GMA administrations.

 It is claimed that Commission on Audit (COA) and Department of Agriculture (DA) documents show that Fuentebella absconded with his PDAF and VILP allocations when he was representative of the province’s 4th district, through bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) that either Napoles or he himself had set up.

In its special audit report for the years 2007-2009, the COA had listed P197 million-worth of PDAF and VILP funds allocated for Fuentebella over that period.

Of this amount, COA questioned, for instance, the P18.6 million in PDAF funds that went to the Fuentebella-endorsed Partido District Development Cooperative Inc. (PDDCI) for projects supposed to have been coursed through the Technology Resource Center (TRC).

The PDDCI is reportedly not registered with either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). It is allegedly headed by Fuentebella’s driver and does not even have records at the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) of the municipal hall in Tigaon, where Fuentebella’s son Arnulf Bryan is the mayor.

In a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala had identified Fuentebella as one of six solons who had channeled a combined P83.2 million of their PDAF outlays at the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Kaupdanan para sa Mangunguma Foundation (KPMI), which is one of the 10 identified fake NGOs of Napoles.

In its report, state auditors said Fuentebella’s PDAF allocation amounted to at least P197 million over the 2007-2009 period. Of this amount, P120 million were for VILP or “hard” projects, and P76.8 million were for “soft” projects. Fuentebella got another P1 million more from other sources.

 COA found out that P18.6 million of Fuentebella’s PDAF were channeled over the three-year period to PDDCI for projects supposed to have been implemented by the TRC for a farmers’ livelihood training and entrepreneurial promotions and development program. The PDDCI has yet to liquidate P9.6 million of the P18.6-million outlays.

The PDDCI is one of 82 private organizations that COA had questioned in its report for receiving funds endorsed by lawmakers, despite the absence of any law authorizing such fund disbursements to NGOs.

The COA also noted that the National Food Authority (NFA) and PDAF were supposed to have supplied rice and palay seeds for Fuentebella’s projects, but there was no proof that such had been distributed to their intended beneficiaries.

But Fuentebella’s camp claims that there was no VILP released to Fuentebella because he participated in the impeachment of former President Arroyo.

As to the alleged release of P18 million to PDDCI based in Tigaon, Fuentebella’s camp said that the release was for the entire district and not for a particular barangay in Tigaon where PDDCI is. It was also pointed out that members of the PDDCI are residents of the 4th congressional district of Camarines Sur, locally known in the province as Partido district and that PDDCI membership was composed of ordinary people, professionals, teachers, some barangay and municipal officials who want to participate in the livelihood programs.

Fuentebella’s group also said that PDDCI, being a cooperative, is registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) since 1996 and not with the SEC. They added that PDDCI has the necessary mayor’s permit and other local permits.

As to the non-liquidation of P10 million, they emphasized that all funds were cleared, liquidated properly, and accounted for, citing a TLRC certification issued in 2012.

As to claims that Fuentebella was one of the lawmakers who channeled their PDAF to an NGO identified with Napoles, they said that Fuentebella was never informed of the release by the DA to said NGO and that in fact, the P750,000 (15 percent of Fuentebella’s PDAF) released from the solon’s PDAF for KPMFI was being investigated by the Agriculture department due to protestations made by Fuentebella who has said that he did not sign any indorsement in favor of said NGO. The 85 percent is said to be still unutilized.

Last Sept. 2, Fuentebella wrote the DA asking that his entire PDAF amounting to P5 million be returned to the national government, even as he questioned the initial release of the P750,000 for lack of factual and legal basis.

His camp likewise said that a number of personalities could be behind the spear campaign against him, including former governor L-Ray Villafuerte, Elmo Bombase who lost the mayoralty race in Tigaon, Francisco Tria who lost the mayoralty race twice to mayor Evelyn Fuentebella in Sagnay, Camarines Sur in the 2010 and 2013 elections; and Alfredo Gonzaga, another losing candidate of Villafuerte.

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