Ombudsman indicts Masbate governor, 3 others for pork scam

By ELIZABETH MARCELO, GMA News

Published October 3, 2014 4:20pm

The Ombudsman has found probable cause to criminally charge four former members of the House of Representatives before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan, in connection with the alleged misuse of their pork barrel funds totaling P244.29 million.

Former Masbate Rep. and current Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete is facing a plunder case for the alleged anomalous use of her Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel fund allocations, worth P112.29 million from 2007 to 2009.

Also indicted were former Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa, former Agusan Del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza and former Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Constantino Jaraula with several counts of malversation and direct bribery, also in connection with the pork barrel scam allegedly engineered by Janet Lim-Napoles.

Napoles, her driver and bodyguard John Raymund De Asis, and Lanete’s Chief of Staff Jose Sumalpong are also facing plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the scam involving Lanete's PDAF allocations.

The four former House members were among the first batch of respondents the Department of Justice charged before the Ombudsman in connection with the pork barrel scam last year.

The other respondents in the group include Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. They are now detained at Camp Crame: Estrada and Revilla at the PNP Custodial Center, the 90-year old Enrile at the PNP General Hospital.

Others indicted in the latest batch are Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, and DBM officials Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule, and Marilou Bare.

Lanete

“During her term as [congresswoman], Lanete continuously endorsed the implementation of her PDAF-funded livelihood and agricultural projects to questionable NGOs associated with or controlled by Napoles,” the Ombudsman said.

Napoles, who is currently detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig for plunder in connection with the charges against the three senators, is the alleged brains behind the pork barrel scam. She is also the subject of a serious illegal detention charge filed by former aide and now whistleblower Benhur Luy.

“Field investigation conducted by Ombudsman investigators revealed that the P112.29 million PDAF was never used for the intended agricultural and livelihood projects as the documents submitted such as Disbursement Vouchers, Progress and Accomplishment Reports, Fund Utilization, Inspection and Delivery Reports, and Certificates of Acceptance were all fabricated,” the Ombudsman said.

The Ombudsman said the Special Audit Report of COA supported the testimonies of the whistleblowers that Lanete received total commissions amounting to P108.4 million from 2004 to 2010. Of this amount, P73 million was received from 2007 to 2009.

Plaza

Plaza, meanwhile, was indicted for five counts of malversation and two counts of direct bribery, for allocating P27.5 million of his PDAF allocations for 2008 and 2009 to Napoles' NGOs.

The Ombudsman said that based on Luy’s records, Plaza received total commissions, rebates, or kickbacks amounting to at least P42.1 million from PDAF-funded projects from 2004 to 2010. It found that the payoffs usually took place at the JLN office in Ortigas or in Plaza’s house in Alabang Hills.

Dangwa

The Ombudsman, meanwhile, indicted Dangwa for one count of malversation and five counts of direct bribery, for allegedly allowing his 2001 to 2010 PDAF worth P54 million to be coursed through Napoles' NGOs.

Also indicted for malversation were Dangwa's Chiefs of Staff Erwin Dangwa and Carlos Lozada.

“Similar to the cases of Lanete and Plaza, Dangwa’s PDAF was never used for the intended projects as shown by dubious and fabricated documents,” the Ombudsman said.

The Ombudsman also gave weight to Luy's testimony that Dangwa allegedly received at least P26.7 million worth of commissions through his representatives.

Jaraula

Jaraula was indicted for three counts of malversation and three counts of direct bribery for the alleged misuse of his P50.5 million PDAF from 2004 to 2007. The money was supposedly intended for financial and technical assistance for video courses and printed materials, with TRC as the implementing agency and CARED as NGO-partner.

“Luy stated that he recorded the rebates and commissions received by Jaraula amounting to P20.8 million, adding that there were occasions when he personally delivered the rebates to Jaraula,” the Ombudsman said.

Others accused

Also indicted as co-accused are officers and representatives of various implementing agencies (IAs) namely:

Technology Resource Center (TRC) Director General Antonio Ortiz, Deputy Director General Dennis Cunanan, Department Manager Francisco Figura and Chief Accountant Marivic Jover

National Agri-Business Corporation (NABCOR) President Alan Javellana, Paralegal Victor Roman Cacal, General Services Unit Head Romulo Relevo, Bookkeeper Maria Ninez Guañizo, Chief Accountant Ma. Julie Villaralvo-Johnson, and Director for Financial Management Services Rhodora Mendoza, National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC) President Gondelina Amata, Division Chief Gregoria Buenaventura, Director Emmanuel Alexis Sevidal, Chief Financial Specialist Sofia Cruz and Department Manager Chita Jalandoni.

The Ombudsman also indicted several officers and representatives of NGOs linked with Napoles, namely Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic and Development Foundation (CARED), Masaganang Ani para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (MAMFI), Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc, (PSDFI) and the Social Development Program for Farmer Foundation, Inc. (SDPFFI).

The cases stemmed from the separate complaints filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Ombudsman's Field Investigation Office (FIO).

“Many of the names appearing on the lists as farmer-recipients were neither residents nor registered voters of the place where they were listed as beneficiaries, were fictitious or had jumbled surnames, while others were already deceased. In other words, these livelihood projects were ghost projects,” Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said in the Joint Resolution against the accused. —NB/KBK, GMA News

Tags: bantaykaban, porkbarrelscam, sandiganbayan, ombudsman, rizalinaseachonlanete