Jinggoy wants probe on TRC’s ‘pork’ share

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Jinggoy Estrada reiterated his challenge to the justice department to look into the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) that involved the allocation of P2.44 billion in pork barrel funds to the Technology Resource Center between 2007 and 2009.

“I repeat more than 200 legislatives, more than 30 NGOs and more than P2 billion of PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) transactions went through TRC,” Estrada said.

Estrada decried what he called the apparent selective justice waged by the administration against him and his colleagues, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr.

Estrada expressed his disappointment over the probe of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that focused only on three senators when there were about 200 lawmakers who placed their pork barrel funds with TRC alone.

There were 39 non-government organizations (NGOs) linked with suspected pork barrel scam operator Janet Lim –Napoles, which were recipients of the lawmakers’ pork barrel allocations, Estrada added.

Estrada maintained the DOJ has a weak case against him in connection with the pork barrel scam.

He merely shrugged the claims of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima who reportedly felt insulted by his insinuations that the DOJ had been harboring “stray cats” as witnesses.

Estrada slammed the DOJ for the quality of the witnesses that they get just to bolster their accusations in relation to the plunder complaint filed before the Ombudsman.

De Lima, on the other hand, said they are not coaching key witnesses in implicating Estrada and other opposition senators in the pork barrel scam. – With Edu Punay