RECAP: 5th Senate public hearing on PDAF scam, Sept. 26

The Senate blue ribbon committee on Thursday conducted the fifth public hearing on the multibillion peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam allegedly involving lawmakers and trader Janet Lim-Napoles.

Invited as resource persons were Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, principal whistleblower Benhur Luy, and other employees of Napoles who are familiar with the supposed scam.

Below is a recap of the hearing. 

10:11 a.m. Sen. TG Guingona starts the hearing by saying he was hoping trader Janet Lim-Napoles would be present at today's hearing, but the subpoena was not signed. Guingona has written a letter to Sen. President Franklin Drilon, urging him to reconsider his decision not to approve the subpoena issued to Janet Lim-Napoles. He says he will await the response of Drilon in the next three days.

READ: TG Guingona presses Drilon to summon Napoles to Senate 'pork' probe

10:13 a.m. Guingona says he has accepted Justice Sec. Leila de Lima's apology for not bringing the whistleblowers at the last hearing.

10:14 a.m. De Lima says she has brought six whistleblowers: Benhur Luy, Gertrudes Luy, Marina Sula, Merlina Suñas, Arlene Baltazar, and Monet Briones.

READ: De Lima obeys Senate order, brings whistleblowers to pork probe

10:16 a.m. De Lima says she has brought the whistleblowers to the hearing with reservation as their presence may compromise their and their family's safety. "This goes against my better judgment. This may put witnesses and future cases at risk," she says, adding she is worried the public hearing may jeopardize the case.

10:23 a.m. Sen. Chiz Escudero replies, "Our job is to ensure justice is done."

10:24 a.m. Hearing suspended as committee members confer.

10:26 a.m. Guingona says the request of De Lima has been duly noted. He welcomes Benhur and Gertrudes Luy, Sula, Suñas, Baltazar and Briones.

10:28 a.m. Whistleblowers take their oath to tell the truth at the hearing.

10:29 a.m. Counsels enter their appearance. Atty. Lourdes Benipayo is counsel for Sula and Baltazar. Atty. Levito Baligod and two other lawyers are counsels for Benhur and Gertrudes Luy and Suñas.

10:31 a.m. Sen. Bam Aquino asks De Lima to comment on Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's position that there was selective justice in the pork barrel case.

10:32 a.m. De Lima answers Aquino, saying there is no selective justice. "This is just the first batch of cases. Maingat lang kami," she adds. She says the case for the Malampaya fund scam will be filed next week, and the next batch of pork barrel cases later.

READ: De Lima: No selective justice; next batch of 'pork' cases to be filed in 2 weeks

10:34 a.m. De Lima said she is not sure which is bigger: the PDAF scam or the Malampaya scam.

10:36 a.m. Aquino asks De Lima why only NGOs identified with Napoles were investigated. De Lima replies, "Kaya nauna 'yung Napoles component kasi pumutok na 'yung kaso."

10:39 a.m. De Lima says other bogus NGOs are being investigated by the Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council.

10:43 a.m. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano proposes they follow a certain order. Committee takes a two-minute break.

10:48 a.m. Hearing resumes. De Lima says they are volunteering that Merlina Suñas take the witness stand first, with her counsel Atty. Baligod guiding her and asking questions.

10:51 a.m. Baligod says Suñas will divulge how she met Napoles, what she knows of the scam, how the funds were withdrawn, and where these funds went. Suñas will narrate her story.

10:51 a.m. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said witnesses can name names when the cases have already been filed.

10:53 a.m. Suñas greets the senators present, but apologizes that she doesn't know all the senators.

10:54 a.m. Suñas says she met Napoles when the latter made a transaction with the Naval Construction Brigade as supplier of vehicle parts. Suñas was then working for the Philippine Navy's procurement office at the Naval Construction Brigade. After that, she went to work for Napoles' Jo-Chris Trading, named after the businesswoman's daughters. 

10:56 a.m. Suñas says Napoles also had dealings with the Philippine Marines as supplier. Transactions with the Philippine Navy were smooth, but Napoles was implicated in a case with the Philippine Marines as supplier of Kevlar helmets along with other Marine officials. Suñas names some of Napoles's relatives whose names were dragged into the case.

READ: Whistleblower: Before 'pork' scam, Napoles 'got funds' from AFP

11:01 a.m. Suñas says Jo-Chris Trading moved to the 25th floor of Discovery Suites in Ortigas Center. JLN Corp. was established later. In 2001, Napoles had small business projects, transacting with congressmen who had "maliliit na pondo noon."

11:04 a.m. Suñas says she was assigned to follow up transactions with the Department of Agriculture Region 1 and implement projects awarded to Napoles NGOs. Three foundations were used: People's Organization for Progress and Development, Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc, and another one. Suñas says they added names of people as incorporators, such as her cousin's, even without their knowledge. "Kasama po ako doon sa pagkuha ng mga foundation. Nagtulong-tulong kami para makabuo ng foundation," Suñas says. "Bumuo kami ng foundations para magamit ni Napoles para makapag-transact sa gobyerno... Sa agency namin ipapadala 'yung pondo para mas mabilis makolekta. 'Yun ang sinasabi nya sa amin," she adds.

11:15 a.m. De Lima and Cayetano ask Suñas how the funds were distributed to lawmakers. Suñas says she had no direct knowledge how much lawmakers got. "Alam ko na may hatian, pero hindi ko alam ang exact amount na napupunta. Narinig ko na merong hatian," she adds.

11:20 a.m. Suñas narrated the role of Napoles' employees. "Kami na ang gumagawa ng liquidations. After makolekta yung full... nire-remit namin yung pera kay Napoles," she says. Benhur explains how they do it: Half of the funds are advanced by Napoles through the Malampaya fund and the other 50 percent from the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) of lawmakers. "Liquid si Mrs. Napoles dahil sa perang nakuha niya from Malampaya fund," Benhur says. Guingona then asks to clarify: "So dalawang aspeto ang paggamit sa pondo: PDAF and Malampaya." Benhur says, "Yes. P900 million nakuha ni Napoles sa Malampaya."

11:26 a.m. Suñas says no deliveries were made for 'pork' projects for two years, 2007 to 2009. Benhur agrees and says, "Ilan sa mga beneficiaries, totoo. 'Yung iba, recycled. 'Yung iba, inimbento na lang." He adds that in the lower house of Congress, Napoles would usually transact with party-list groups.

11:34 a.m. Sen. Koko Pimentel asks whistleblowers about their background. Whistleblowers reply:

• Bernard Luy says he was president of Social Development Farmers' Foundation, and worked for Napoles for 10 years up to 2012.
• Gertrudes Luy says she was named president of Bukirin Tanglaw Foundation Inc. without her knowledge. "Hindi ko alam na nakapangalan sa akin na nasangkot sa Malampaya Funds," she says. She worked for Napoles from 1990 to 2012.
• Merlina Suñas says she was project coordinator of JLN Corp. from 1997 to 2012. She became president of People's Organization for Progress and Development in 2003. 

11:37 a.m. Suñas says her cousin Nemesio Pablo Jr., an OFW and welder in Australia, was named president of another Napoles NGO, Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation, without his knowledge. Pimentel asks De Lima if DOJ can drop the charges against Pablo. De Lima is amenable to the suggestion but will discuss it with her team.

READ: DOJ may drop charges vs. OFW linked to 'pork' scam

11:43 a.m. Other whistleblowers introduce themselves:

• Sula says she was staff and president of Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. She worked for Napoles since 1997 in Jo-Chris Trading.
• Baltazar says she was bookkeeper of JLN Corp. from 2006 to 2013. She was president of Tanglaw para sa Magsasaka Foundation.
• Briones says she was not an employee of JLN Corp. but later became president of Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic Development Foundation. She says she has no knowledge of transactions of the company, but was only named president.

11:55 a.m. Suñas says John Lim, nephew of Napoles, was named president of Ginintuang Alay sa Magsasaka Foundation. Pimentel notes that Lim's signature appears in a Memorandum of Agreement in 2012 between Agriculture Undersecretary Antonio Pleta and Surigao Del Sur government. Pimentel said the MOA names him without his knowledge.

READ: Napoles also ventured into Agri dept funds – whistleblower Benhur Luy

12:06 p.m. Gertrude Luy says Napoles used to ask her to oversee and count the money in bags and trolleys delivered to Napoles' house. This was sometime in 2007.

12:15 p.m. Sula says she was among those who helped process papers for Napoles NGOs' transactions, including affixing signatures of supposed beneficiaries... and make "fake" receipts for the NGOs. She also narrated the properties purchased by Napoles, including the one in the US.

READ: Whistleblower: Napoles used fake receipts, put several properties under others' names

12:28 p.m. Sula says she was asked to bring money to the house of a lawmaker's "agent" named Miss Ruby Tuazon.

READ: 'Pork' scam whistleblower: I delivered money to house of Erap's ex-employee 

12:35 p.m. Baltazar says that early this year–January or February–they were asked to shred documents related to Napoles' foundations. "This was during the time Benhur was already detained... Inutusan kaming idiin si Benhur Luy."

12:50 p.m.  Briones, the cousin of Sula, says she was made president of one of Napoles' NGOs.

1:05 p.m. Sula says on the day of Napoles' surrender to President Benigno Aquino III, a lawyer asked them if there was a paper trail, and "told us, 'Kung meron, kulong rin kayo.'" De Lima adds that before Napoles surrendered, the businesswoman was still trying to fix the witnesses. "Malapit nang lumabas ang TRO ko," Napoles reportedly told Sula. Sula adds too that Napoles told her, "'Wag kang tumalikod. Kahit anong mangyari, sama-sama tayo." Napoles' brother Reynald Lim then got the phone and tried to convince her and the others not to turn their backs on Napoles. When asked by Escudero why Jaime, the husband of Janet Lim-Napoles, was never mentioned, Benhur says he was just always inside the office. He also adds, "Wala akong nakitang pera na ibinigay sa DBM."

1:13 p.m. Benhur says Napoles has 20 NGOs. Of these, eight were funded via PDAF, and 12 via Malampaya.

1:15 p.m. Committee expresses intent to subpoena the former manager of Metrobank Magdalena branch to appear at a Senate hearing on the PDAF scam. Napoles NGOs had accounts in this branch. Luy said this manager resigned from the bank after discovering the transactions with lawmakers.

1:28 p.m. Cayetano says an unnamed legislator–"he-who-should-not-be-named"–was not included in the charges filed by the DOJ. He adds that this legislator has already been condemned in public and in media. Cayetano says, "There is a possibility na ang organization ang may anomalya at hindi 'yong legislator." De Lima replies, "Yes, posible 'yon."

1:36 p.m. Cayetano asks the whistleblowers about their knowledge of Napoles properties. Sula says Brian Yamsuan, former consultant of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., sold a condominium unit in Makati to Napoles. Benhur says he used to send money from the fund to Western Investment Corp. "Dun nakapangalan ang properties. 'Di ko alam na ganun pala. Seven million (dollars) na pala," he says, referring to the Anaheim property linked to Napoles.

READ: Whistleblower: Ex-Palace consultant sold condo unit to Napoles

1:39 p.m. De Lima says whistleblowers have already shared what they know about the use of Malampaya funds, and this is why the agency is set to file charges soon.

1:43 p.m. Benhur Luy tells the committee he talked to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile's ex-chief-of-staff Atty. Gigi Reyes once, about the Cohen diet. Atty. Reyes was among those named by DOJ in its complaint.

READ: Benhur Luy admits contact with aides of Bong Revilla, Jinggoy

1:47 p.m. De Lima says the budget for the Witness Protection Program is increased every year, but they could do more if they are given more funds. In 2013, the program was given a budget of P185M. She refuses to answer Sen. Grace Poe's question if whistleblowers such as Benhur are housed by the DOJ in a safehouse, or if they live in their own homes. The Justice Sec. says she cannot divulge such information as prescribed by law.

1:55 p.m. Guingona asks Sula if Napoles knows anyone in Sandiganbayan, reminding her of her comment earlier that Napoles said her TRO will soon be out. Sula says Napoles knows Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Gregory Ong. Guingona thanks the whistleblowers for attending the hearing and assures everyone the setbacks have not diminished the committee's determination to finish the task. "In our quest for answers, we have made significant headway. We are confident that we will accomplish the goal that we set," he says. Guingona adds they will await the Senate President's action on the letter urging him to reconsider his decision not to approve the subpoena for Janet Lim-Napoles. Guingona adjourns the session.

–With Luis B. Gorgonio/YA, GMA News