From Luy's files: Enrile's 'letter' to Aquino ally
MANILA, Philippines — A draft letter supposedly from Senate minority leader Juan Ponce Enrile and addressed to a member of President Aquino's Cabinet was among the digital files discovered in the hard drive of pork barrel scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy.
In the letter dated December 12, 2011, Enrile was informing Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes that P55 million had been released to the latter's department.
The allocation of the funds was covered by Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) No. E-11-01885 dated December 6, 2011.
According to the letter, the following municipalities are the beneficiaries of the released funds:
| Municipality of Calasiao, Pangasinan | P 9.0M |
| Municipality of San Antonio, Quezon | P 8.0M |
| Municipality of Marilao, Bulacan | P 9.0M |
| Municipality of Sariaya, Quezon | P 7.5M |
| Municipality of San Agustin, Surigao del Sur | P 9.5M |
| Municipality of Marihatag, Surigao del Sur | P 7.0M |
| Municipality of Medina, Misamis Oriental | P 5.0M |
The letter said the released funds will be used for the implementation of livelihood projects in support to farmer beneficiaries.
"I am hoping for your continued support in this endeavor," Enrile's supposed letter told the Cabinet official.
The letter, however, does not bear the signature of Enrile.
In one of the Senate hearings on the pork barrel scam, Luy had said that he and other former employees of Janet Lim-Napoles would forge signatures of lawmakers upon the orders of the businesswoman.
Napoles, the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind, supposedly got authorization from the lawmakers.
Napoles has been accused of conniving with Enrile and other officials in funneling pork barrel funds and the Malampaya funds to her bogus foundations using government agencies as conduits.
In the alleged multibillion scheme, the lawmakers and the government officials will get kickbacks.
On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) turned over to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee a compact disc containing the digital files, including Enrile's letter, from Luy's hard drive.
The files reportedly detail Napoles' transactions as government officials.
It is still not known if the alleged letter from Enrile was actually received by De los Reyes' office. Senator Teofisto Guingona, Blue Ribbon Committee chair, said the digital files that they have obtained will be examined and analyzed before these are released to the media.
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