Plunder Raps vs 3 Senators, Napoles, Et al.

The Office of the Ombudsman on Monday has received plunder charges against controversial ‘pork barrel’ scam brains Janet Lim-Napoles, three senators, and two former members of the House of Representatives who have allegedly collected more than P50 million each in a P10-billion pork barrel scam, Gma news online reported.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima together with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Atty. Levito Baligod appeared at the Ombudsman to file the plunder complaint against 38 persons implicated in the case.

Reports added the accused senators are Ramon Revilla Jr. (P224.5 million in alleged kickbacks), Juan Ponce Enrile (P172.8 million) and Jinggoy Estrada (P183.79 million).

Senator Revilla became emotional while Estrada was unfazed when reporters sought their reactions to the complaint. Meanwhile, Enrile was brought to the hospital for hypertension last Saturday and was absent in Monday’s Senate session.

Janet Lim-Napoles was charged for plunder, malversation, and corruption of public officials through the use of bogus NGOs that supposedly obtained government money from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of the lawmakers for ghost projects, Gma news online said. The complaint has described Napoles as the “mastermind of the PDAF scam operations.”

The plunder complaint includes incumbent Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete (P108.4 million), a former lawmaker, and former APEC party-list Rep. Edgar Valdez (P56.09 million).

Meanwhile, three former congressmen were charged for malversation, direct bribery, and other graft and corrupt practices: former Rep. Rodolfo Plaza (P42.1 million), former Rep. Samuel Dangwa (P26.77 million),former Rep. Constantino Jaraula (P20.84 million)

The following staff members of the lawmakers are also facing charges:

Atty. Jessica Reyes – Enrile’s former chief of staff
Atty. Richard Cambe – Revilla’s staff
Ruby Tuason – representative of Enrile and Estrada
Pauline Labayen – Estrada’s staff
Jose Sumalpong – chief of staff of Lanete
Jeanette Dela Cruz – district staff of Lanete
Erwin Dangwa – chief of staff of Dangwa
Carlos Lozada – Dangwa’s staff

De Lima in an interview said “A few minutes ago the NBI as a public complainant and Levito Baligod as private complainant filed the first batch of the PDAF complaints,”

“The crimes of plunder, malversation, bribery and other graft and corrupt practices were thus committed when said lawmakers received from Napoles kickbacks amounting to 40 to 60 percent of the cash value of the project cost for every project endorsed by the lawmaker to a Napoles NGO,” De Lima said in the DOJ’s executive summary of the complaint.

“The lawmakers took advantage and abused their official position and authority as Senators and Congressmen of the Republic, thereby unjustly enriching themselves at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the people and the Republic,” she added. These criminal acts were done “willfully, deliberately and maliciously,” De Lima said.

the summary added “The chief-of-staff of the lawmaker or his representative who facilitates documents and follow-ups with agencies for the lawmaker and Napoles also gets 1-5% of the project cost, also as kickback,”

“Finally, Napoles gives 10% of the project cost to the head of the implementing agency, also as kickback,” the complaint said. “The rest is pocketed by Napoles after deducting the cost of overpriced supplies such as agricultural kits and training materials procured from a supplier enterprise which is owned by her, or the full remaining amount if there is no deliver at all,” the complaint added.
Three incumbent officials are among those connected with government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) who are accused for either plunder or malversation, bribery and graft and corrupt practices:

Salvador Salacup – Department of Agriculture assistant secretary and former president, ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp. (ZREC)
Dennis Cunanan – Director General, Technology Resource Center (TRC, under DOST); former deputy director general of the same agency
Gondelina Amata – President, National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC, under DA)
Alan Javellana – former president, National Agribusiness Corp. (NABCOR)
Antonio Ortiz – former director general of TRC

Accused for plunder or malversation, bribery, or graft and corrupt practices by conspiracy are the following GOCC employees and agency officials:

Victor Cacal – NABCOR
Romulo Revelo – NABCOR
Ma. Ninez Guanizo – NABCOR
Julie Johnson – NABCOR
Rodhora Mendoza – NABCOR
Alexis Sevidal – NLDC
Sofia Cruz – NLDC
Chila Jalandoni – NLDC
Francisco Figura – TRC
Marivic Jover – TRC

Moreover, the following heads of Napoles-linked non-government organizations (NGOs) are also facing charges of plunder and malversation:

Jocelyn Piorato – Agricultura Para sa Magbubukid Foundation Inc.
Nemesio Pablo – Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation Inc.
Mylene Encarnacion – Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic and Development Foundation Inc.
John Raymund De Asis – Kaupdanan Para sa Mangunguma Foundation Inc.
Evelyn Deleon – Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc.
Ronald John Lim – Ginintuang Alay sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc.

The ‘pork barrel’ or PDAF scam was allegedly led by Napoles, who surrendered to President Benigno Aquino III after a court ordered her arrest over the serious illegal detention of her employee and main scam whistleblower Benhur Luy.

In a senate inquiry, Luy revealed Napoles as the mastermind of the PDAF scam. Benhur reported Napoles allegedly bought the PDAF of Senators to supposedly used the same for non-existent NGOs and projects. Luy added that the division of spoils between Napoles and ‘a politician’ was 50-50,Gma news online reported.

Source: Gma news Tv, Gma news online