Abad: Napoles only tried to set up meetings

MANILA, Philippines — Saying Janet Lim-Napoles was "hallucinating," Budget Secretary Florencio Abad again dismissed allegations that he was involved in the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.

In an interview on ANC's Headstart on Wednesday, Abad belied claims that he dealt with Napoles from the time when he was still a Batanes congressman until today. He said even members of his staff never knew the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam.

"Wala ho akong kinalaman bilang congressman, bilang opisyal, bilang secretary of [Department of Budget and Management] sa anumang scam ni Napoles o kanyang mga pekeng [non-government organizations]," Abad told ANC.

The embattled Cabinet official, however, admitted that Napoles had tried to set up meetings with his office.

"Although I have heard that a number of times she had tried to arrange to have an appointment but my staff simply said 'no'," Abad said.

Abad was one of the officials and administration allies implicated in Napoles' list of those who allegedly misused the PDAF or congressional pork barrel funds.

The said list was supposedly given by Napoles' husband to rehab czar Panfilo Lacson, who submitted it with the businesswoman's unsigned affidavit to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Tuesday.

According to the affidavit, Napoles first met Abad in 2000 when the budget chief was still a congressman. It said that it was Abad himself who taught the businesswoman how to set up foundations.

Abad simply denied again the allegations that he mentored Napoles.

"I think she's hallucinating. She's been in bad shape for some time. But I really think that she is vigorously trying to get immunity from this and she's been throwing around names that she feels that can put pressure on the government to consider her application as a state witness but there is no way that she can get that," Abad told ANC.

He said none of his PDAF was allocated to Napoles' foundations since it all went to Batanes, which he said was among the 20 poorest provinces in the country before he became a congressman.

"They can very well see there all the benefits that the people got because of that," Abad said.

The President's trusted ally also said that comparing his and Napoles' lifestyle would show that he could have not mentored the businesswoman.

"You can see how a very poor 'master' or 'mentor' I am," he said.

Despite the allegations implicating him in the pork barrel scam, Abad believes that he still enjoys the trust of Aquino.

He said the President had told him to just focus on his work instead of dealing with the allegations.

The President, Abad added, "does not really take seriously" the Napoles list.

"This list is just a list. Unless this list is fortified by evidence, it is really nothing," Abad said.

The budget chief is now urging Filipinos to be critical of what comes out in the news.

"Hindi lahat ng lumalabas sa radyo, sa t.v. ay katotohanan. Kailangan naman, tignan natin kung anong ebidensya ang sumusuporta dito," he added. - Louis Bacani