Napoles tags Abad, 3 senators in PDAF

MANILA, Philippines - Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles has implicated Senators Franklin Drilon, Antonio Trillanes IV and Leila de Lima in the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, a claim that Drilon and Trillanes were quick to dismiss as harassment.

She also tagged former budget secretary Florencio Abad and another Cabinet official yet to be named.

In a press conference, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Napoles’ lawyer, Stephen David, relayed to him the new revelations on the multibillion-peso pork barrel fund anomaly.

He added that David also mentioned several other senators that are to be included in the affidavit being prepared by Napoles.

“These lawmakers, they are saying, were involved in the scheme similar to the original PDAF offenses where they used Napoles’ NGOs (non-government organizations) or corporations to get funds,” Aguirre explained. “I believe they were already enumerated during the previous administration, but were not included because they were supposed to be (in the) succeeding batches that never came.”

While De Lima was not a lawmaker when the PDAF scam was carried out, Aguirre said Napoles would point out De Lima’s involvement when her affidavit is finalized.

He refused to name the other senators and high-ranking government officials that are also being implicated, saying this information should come directly from Napoles.

He said Napoles’ camp is planning to file plunder and other criminal charges against these officials, which would pave the way for the DOJ reinvestigation on the pork barrel anomaly.

If the DOJ finds probable cause, he said the findings would be forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman, which has primary jurisdiction over cases involving government officials.

“Definitely, Abad was mentioned. He is one of them,” Aguirre recalled, adding that Napoles identified the former official as her mentor or instigator.

The justice chief believes Napoles is still eligible to become a state witness, citing a Supreme Court ruling which said that in the event there are two accused with almost the same level of guilt – the one who committed plunder and the instigator – it is the instigator that would be considered most guilty.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said Napoles could file the charges against previous officials but stressed that these would have no bearing on the cases already filed against her case in court. 

Napoles, as a co-accused of several former and incumbent lawmakers in the alleged misuse of PDAF, is facing five plunder cases as well as multiple cases of graft, malversation of public funds, falsification and direct bribery.

Morales said it would be the ombudsman who will have the final say on whether Napoles can be a state witness against the alleged errant officials.    – With Paolo Romero, Elizabeth Marcelo