COA: Agencies in ‘pork’ scam still exist

MANILA, Philippines - Several government agencies and corporations found involved in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam still exist despite President Aquino’s promise to abolish them.

In fact, the report of the Commission on Audit (COA) on government compensation for 2014 shows that the officers of these agencies and corporations earned millions in salaries, allowances and other benefits.

The report shows that the offices that still exist include the National Livelihood and Development Corp. (NLDC), a subsidiary of Land Bank of the Philippines; Technology Resource Center (TRC), which is under the Department of Science and Technology; and ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp., which is attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

NLDC, TRC and ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp., along with another DA agency, National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor), figure prominently in the COA special audit report on the alleged misuse of billions in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations of scores of senators and congressmen.

Sens. Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr. are facing plunder and graft charges in connection with the PDAF scam.

Charged with them are alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, the senators’ senior aides and officers of the agencies that served as conduits of the lawmakers’ PDAF allocations.

A fourth senator, Gregorio Honasan, has been charged before the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to the same scam.

Other agencies that have been linked to PDAF irregularities and are still existing are National Dairy Authority and National Agricultural and Fishery Council (NFAC), which are DA agencies; Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC), which is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).

The COA 2014 report on compensation shows that NLDC president Gondelina Amata was paid a total of P1.8 million.