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Enrile denies knowing Napoles, NGOs that received his PDAF
By ANDREO CALONZO, GMA News
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(Updated 4:44 p.m.) Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile on Friday denied personally knowing Janet Lim-Napoles, the fugitive businesswoman who allegedly masterminded the P10-billion "pork barrel" fund scam.
"I don't think I ever met her. I do not know her. I saw her face on television and in print for the first time when this story broke out," Enrile said at a press briefing.
Last month, the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran a series of reports linking Enrile and three other senators to an alleged scam that supposedly used some lawmakers' pork barrel funds funneled through bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) to fund ghost projects.
At the same briefing, the senator also denied knowledge of the use of his pork barrel, formally known as priority development assistance funds, by NGOs described as "questionable" by a recent Commission on Audit (COA) report.
"I do not know those NGOs. I do not know that they existed," Enrile said.
"I was not aware that we have to use NGOs in implementing the [projects]. My understanding is that my duty as a legislator is to request for funding for those who request from me funding for this part of the program of the government," he added.
Enrile further said that he "never dealt directly with any supplier or contractor" in his years as politician.
The COA report on pork barrel funds released last Friday said millions of Enrile's PDAF were transferred to NGOs by implementing agencies such as the National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR)and the National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC).
At the briefing, Enrile said checking the reputation of NGOs receiving government funds is already the "look out" of implementing agencies and not of lawmakers.
He also urged the government to limit projects receiving PDAF to those "that are subject to public bidding."
Unrecorded PDAF releases?
At the same press briefing, Enrile admitted that he is aware of the supposed practice of some senators to not properly record their PDAF releases.
"Some people in the Senate use their PDAF but they are not reflected in the records that they used their PDAF," Enrile said.
When asked if he can identify some of his colleagues who do not record their PDAF releases, Enrile replied, "I don't want to name names... Hanggang doon na lang ako."
Enrile also did not give a response when asked if this supposed practice still takes place at the Senate.— KBK, GMA News
"I don't think I ever met her. I do not know her. I saw her face on television and in print for the first time when this story broke out," Enrile said at a press briefing.
Last month, the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran a series of reports linking Enrile and three other senators to an alleged scam that supposedly used some lawmakers' pork barrel funds funneled through bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) to fund ghost projects.
At the same briefing, the senator also denied knowledge of the use of his pork barrel, formally known as priority development assistance funds, by NGOs described as "questionable" by a recent Commission on Audit (COA) report.
"I do not know those NGOs. I do not know that they existed," Enrile said.
"I was not aware that we have to use NGOs in implementing the [projects]. My understanding is that my duty as a legislator is to request for funding for those who request from me funding for this part of the program of the government," he added.
Enrile further said that he "never dealt directly with any supplier or contractor" in his years as politician.
The COA report on pork barrel funds released last Friday said millions of Enrile's PDAF were transferred to NGOs by implementing agencies such as the National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR)and the National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC).
At the briefing, Enrile said checking the reputation of NGOs receiving government funds is already the "look out" of implementing agencies and not of lawmakers.
He also urged the government to limit projects receiving PDAF to those "that are subject to public bidding."
Unrecorded PDAF releases?
At the same press briefing, Enrile admitted that he is aware of the supposed practice of some senators to not properly record their PDAF releases.
"Some people in the Senate use their PDAF but they are not reflected in the records that they used their PDAF," Enrile said.
When asked if he can identify some of his colleagues who do not record their PDAF releases, Enrile replied, "I don't want to name names... Hanggang doon na lang ako."
Enrile also did not give a response when asked if this supposed practice still takes place at the Senate.— KBK, GMA News
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