Jinggoy wants to scrutinize AMLC report

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of former senator Jinggoy Estrada is seeking to debunk allegations he pocketed government funds by questioning a report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on several government officials allegedly involved in the multibillion-peso “pork” scam.

In a motion dated Nov. 29 filed before the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division, lawyer Paul Mar Arias specifically asked for the issuance of subpoena on the AMLC’s inquiry report on the “bank and other financial transactions” made by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the scam, from 2004 to 2012.

Estrada’s camp also asked the court to subpoena any “suspicious transaction reports and covered transaction reports” submitted by banks, non-bank financial institutions, covered institutions or any other government agencies concerning Napoles’ financial transactions from 2004 to 2012.

Estrada is facing plunder and graft charges before the Fifth Division over the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel during his term as a senator.

Based on the information of the cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in June 2014, Estrada amassed a total of P183.79 million worth of kickbacks for allocating his PDAF from 2004 to 2012 to the fake non-government organizations (NGOs) allegedly owned by Napoles.

The PDAF allocation was for the supposed implementation of his livelihood projects, which the ombudsman said were never realized.

Estrada had repeatedly denied having any transaction with Napoles concerning his PDAF.

At the height of the pork scam issue, a photo of Napoles posing with Estrada and then fellow senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.  at a party surfaced, but Estrada was quick to say that it was purely a one-time social acquaintance.

Estrada and Napoles remain in detention after the Fifth Division early this year denied with finality their respective petitions to post bail, which the court heard for almost two years.

The Fifth Division set the pre-trial of the plunder case on Jan. 30, 2017 wherein the prosecution and the defense are expected to submit their final list of witnesses and evidence to be presented during the trial proper.

The AMLC report on the PDAF scam is considered among the strongest pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution against Estrada during the bail proceedings.

In its 90-page inquiry report on Estrada’s financial and bank transactions, the AMLC said there were indications that the former senator received a total of P157.6 million in kickbacks from Napoles from 2007 to 2012.

The AMLC said there were also “indications of money laundering” in the transactions of Estrada’s nine bank accounts. The report said Estrada’s alleged kickbacks from the pork scam were first deposited by the Napoles-linked foundations to dummy accounts under the names Francis Yenko and Juan Ng before the funds were transferred to the real accounts of the former senator.