Morales assures impartial pork scam probe

MANILA, Philippines - Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Tuesday assured that the Inter-agency Anti-graft Coordinating Council's (IAGCC) investigation on the pork barrel scam will be impartial.

"There's no such thing as administration allies in the probe," Morales, who has been appointed to head the IAGCC, said in a televised press conference Tuesday.

She also belied allegations that the Office of the Ombudsman started investigating the pork barrel scam only after the people showed outrage on the scandal, which involved several lawmakers including members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

"It is not true that it is only now that the Ombudsman is looking at the pork barrel scam case. We assure you of the credibility of the investigation. There is no ‘ka-alyado or hindi ka-alyado ng administrasyon’. We don’t have any record of being tools of anybody," Morales said.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, whose agency is part of the IAGCC, also assured the public that the council's parallel probe on the alleged misuse of lawmakers' pork barrel and the supposed role of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles can withstand political scrutiny.

"We go where the evidence takes us, no partisan consideration whatsoever," De Lima said.

De Lima confirmed that the DOJ-supervised National Bureau of Investigation will recommend the filing of cases against several lawmakers within two weeks. The upcoming report is based on sufficient initial evidence obtained by its agents, she said.

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