Ex-speaker Nograles faces graft raps over pork scam

MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Tuesday ordered the filing of charges against former House Speaker Prospero Nograles over his alleged involvement in the "pork barrel" scam.

The former Misamis Oriental lawmaker allegedly participated in the anomalous utilization of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) worth P47.5 million.

Nograles is facing three counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, one count of malversation and two counts of malversation through falsification of public documents.

The anomaly originated during the tenure of former Misamis Oriental Rep. Danilo Lagbas who died in 2008, based on the investigation report.

The Department of Budget and Management released an amount of P47.5 million as part of Lagbas' PDAF from 2007 to 2009.

Several non-government organizations were supposed to implement livelihood projects but it was discovered that the supposed beneficiaries denied receipts of the materials allotted for the projects.

Lagbas and Nograles chose the following NGOs to implement the projects: Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Alay sa Masa Foundation Inc. (KKAMFI),  Kasangga sa Magandang Bukas Foundation Inc. (KMBFI), Gabay at Pag-asa ng Masa Foundation Inc. (GPMFI) and the Buhay Mo Mahal Ko Foundation Inc. (BMMKFI).

"The reported projects implemented through the NGOs were supported by questionable and spurious documents. Suppliers also denied providing farm implements or issuing any invoices and receipts," the Office of the Ombudsman said.

Upon the death of Lagbas, Nograles selected the programs to be funded by the PDAF allocation and directly participated in the phases of the project implementation.

The alleged supplier of the materials, CC Bernardo Publishing House, contained overlapping series numbers and their receipts were used by two other establishments—G-Roy Enterprises and Ikaw at Ako Foundation Inc.

"The chosen NGOs could not qualify for the grant of government funds since they failed to strictly comply with all the requirements needed in order to be considered eligible to implement government-funded projects," the resolution read.

Morales said that the death of Lagbas did not extinguish the crime and probable guilt of the respondents.

"If circumstances exist where the public officer may no longer be charged in court, as in the present case where the public officer has already died, the private person may be indicted alone," the Ombudsman.

On the case of Nograles, the Ombudsman said that, "he took over as caretaker of the 1st district of Misamis Oriental and continued what had been started by Congressman Lagbas by signing the letter-request to NLDC for the immediate release of the PDAF allocation of P10,000,000.00 to KKAMFI.  Nograles likewise signed the MOA with NLDC and KKAMFI as well the work financial plans and project proposal.”

Morales also directed the Anti-Money Laundering Council to look into possible violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act by the respondents of this case.