Whistleblower Faces Senate Probe, Testimony Established Plunder, Says Senator

Facing the Senate blue ribbon committee on Thursday, the testimony of pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy established that some lawmakers committed plunder and malversation of public funds, the head of the investigating panel said on Thursday.

Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, however said that it is “unfortunate” that Luy could not identify the lawmakers in the supposed scam, Gma news online reported.

“Today, na-establish natin na may corruption talaga na nangyari, at may mga pera talagang ibinigay sa mga legislators. Unfortunately, hindi lumabas ang mga pangalan. Pero it’s only a matter of time,” Guingona said.

Guingona said he hopes Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will deliver in her commitment to recommend charges against these lawmakers on Monday, so that they can finally be identified.

Guingona added that Luy’s testimony brought the story on the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam to “full circle” by detailing how these funds released by lawmakers came back to their own pockets, Gma news online said.

“Nabuo na ang kwento. Ang di na lang sure: Sino ang may kagagawan at sino ang mananagot? Pero iyan, malalaman natin sa Monday pag-file ng kaso,” he said.

Luy has detailed in the Senate inquiry how some senators and congressmen supposedly received ‘cuts’ from pork barrel funds funneled to fake NGOs connected with Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains of the scam.

When asked whether the Senate still needs to invite Napoles, Guingona said the senators will have to “sit down and assess.” Guingona admitted however that only Napoles can say if she engineered the alleged scam on her own, or upon instructions of a superior, Gma news online said.

Source: Gma news online