NBI invites 97 mayors in fund scam

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has invited 97 mayors linked to the P900-million Malampaya fund scam allegedly perpetrated by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima bared yesterday.

In a text message to reporters, De Lima confirmed that the NBI has started investigating the anomaly separately and simultaneously from the pork barrel scam based on allegations by whistle-blowers Benhur Luy and Merlina Suñas.

“Aside from individual notices or invitations sent to these mayors, the NBI is issuing this general public invitation to the mayors named in that list to cooperate in the ongoing probe, either through personal appearance before the NBI or submission of sworn statements on what they know or do not know about such scam,” De Lima said.

The justice chief bared that Luy and Suñas told NBI probers that the signatures of the 97 mayors were forged by employees of Napoles to make it appear that they had requested and benefited from the Malampaya fund intended for local government units ravaged by storms Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009.

“But the truth is, according to the whistleblowers, no funds were released to the mayors since the P900 million all went to Napoles,” De Lima said.

Suñas, Napoles’ former employee who claims to have served as her coordinator with the Department of Agrarian Reform for the Malampaya fund projects, said that she and other JLN staff prepared the letter-requests for the projects supposedly intended for the LGUs, and prepared the documents for the release of the funds.

The money allegedly went to the bogus NGOs created by Napoles.

De Lima also admitted she met with Luy, Suñas and other whistleblowers, who are now covered by the government’s witness protection program, at the NBI yesterday.

“I want to hear and see for myself what exactly these whistleblowers know and assess for myself their credibility,” the justice chief said.

“From what he and Suñas have disclosed thus far to the NBI and to me, I can tell you now that they know a lot,” she added.

The NBI is now completing the sworn statements of the whistleblowers and supporting documents from other sources. 

“The NBI is now working double time to complete a substantial part of the probe so we can release a report and file charges,” she added.

The NBI also is speeding up its probe into the pork barrel fund scam.

De Lima hopes that partial results can be released “in the next few weeks” and assured the public that the weight of evidence and not political color would be the basis for filing charges.

The Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC) – a private voluntary, non-stock, non-profit corporation that certifies non-profit organizations – said yesterday that the NGOs involved in the pork barrel scam are not certified.

“A review of organizations or foundations that were alleged to have received PDAF showed that they never applied for nor received PCNC certification,” said Sonny Carpio, PCNC chairman and executive vice president of Aboitiz Foundation, in a statement. 

Scrapping of ‘presidential pork’ urged

Opposition senators and labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), meanwhile, expressed support for the abolition of the P1-trillion President’s Social Fund to ensure transparency in the expenditure of public funds. 

Senators Nancy Binay and JV Ejercito told reporters during the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel in Manila yesterday that the scrapping of the pork barrel should not be confined to the legislative branch of government but also include the executive department.

“We understand the need for the President’s Social Fund but for the sake of transparency, the executive must also abolish its pork barrel,” Ejercito said. Dubbed as the “presidential pork barrel,” the President’s Social Fund accounts for nearly half of the national budget. 

Former National Treasurer Leonor Briones reported that in the proposed national budget, President Aquino has P1 trillion in lump sum items under his discretion, including P229 billion in special purpose funds, P139 billion in unprogrammed funds and P200 billion allegedly for school buildings.

But Ejercito said the President’s Social Fund can be itemized and incorporated in the national budget to insure that the fund would be spent only for its intended purpose.

Ejercito also said he is willing to submit items for his pork barrel, the bulk of which he said would be allocated to medical assistance programs for the poor.

Binay, for her part, wants people’s organizations to participate in identifying priority projects in the grassroots level.

She said there must be strict guidelines for the accreditation of non-government organizations that would be the beneficiaries of the congressional pork barrel funds.

Accredited NGOs must have a track record of at least three years in delivering basic needs of people.

The KMU, meanwhile, said Aquino’s pork barrel should be re-channeled to various social services.

KMU chair Elmer Labog said in a statement that it is unacceptable that state colleges are raising fees, public hospitals are being privatized, and the poor are being asked to pay dearly for so-called housing services when the President has P1 trillion in pork barrel.

“It is revolting to see Aquino allotting to his discretionary fund a huge section of the national budget while social services are becoming more scarce, expensive and low-quality,” Labog added. Labog also hit Aquino for condemning those who have pocketed public funds and yet he himself is enjoying such a discretionary fund. “Aquino’s P1-trillion pork barrel explains why he is defending the pork barrel system despite the corruption endemic to it, the recent scandals stemming from it, and his anti-corruption rhetoric. Aquino is noisiest in proclaiming his opposition to corruption but is the biggest defender and benefactor of a huge corruption racket,” Labog said.

Citing data from the Department of Budget and Management, KMU said the Priority Development Assistance Fund, or the congressional pork barrel, doubled when Aquino became president and has increased since then. “Despite his rhetoric of change and daang matuwid (straight path), Aquino is no different from previous presidents who got the biggest chunk of corruption. The dominant faction of the ruling class always gets the biggest share of pork barrel funds,” Labog said. – With Aie Balagtas See, Mayen Jaymalin, Perseus Echeminada, Edith Regalado