Documents link Jinggoy, Loi Estrada to alleged pork-scam corporation

Newly discovered documents allege that Senator Jinggoy Estrada and his mother, former first lady and ex-Senator Loi Estrada, benefited from transactions with JLN Corporation – the company of supposed pork barrel scam operator Janet Lim Napoles. The documents are payment vouchers submitted during a 2005 legal dispute between actor Matt Ranillo III and JLN Corporation, in which Ranillo was sued for the payment of a vehicle, according to an exclusive "24 Oras" report Tuesday. One of the JLN Corp. vouchers submitted by Ranillo to the court, dated August 11, 2005, said Senator Jinggoy Estrada received a "payment for 50 percent of P30 million rebate charge" worth P1.14 million. Another voucher dated January 13, 2005 mentioned a "5 percent commission charge to Sen. Loi Estrada PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) DA (Department of Agriculture)" worth P475,000. A third voucher dated December 12, 2005, meanwhile, cited a payment for "50 percent rebate/commission full payment of the commission charge to Sen. Loi Proj. (project)" worth P1.2 million. Ranillo and JLN eventually settled the suit, but not before the latter contested the veracity of the vouchers presented by Ranillo. JLN submitted its own vochers which had the same document numbers as those of Ranillo's. However, none of the Estradas were mentioned in the the second set of vouchers. According to the whistle-blowers' legal counsel , Atty. Stephen Cascolar, the Ranillo documents provide material evidence in the controversial pork barrel case, in which lawmakers' discretionary funds were misused for kickbacks. "Makakatulong po talaga dahil ito po ay actual documents na, dati, dine-describe lang. Ngayon nahahawakan na natin," said Cascolar. Until the documents emerged, evidence in the pork-barrel case relied heavily on whistle-blowers' testimony. The three Ranillo vouchers were signed by Benhur Luy, Napoles' former employee and the main whistleblower in the pork case. "Pamilyar tayo sa bintang sa alegasyon ng mga witnesses na may mga shinred silang documents, mga vouchers na may pirma. Ito ay positive development for the case kasi some of the documents ay na-preserve sa korte," Cascolar added. Meanwhile, Jinggoy Estrada denies having transacted any business with Ranillo. "I don't want to further comment because the case [between Ranillo and JLN] has already been dismissed. I only know him because he is an actor," Jinggoy said in a statement aired in the report. Meanwhile, former first lady Loi has not commented on the matter. Ranillo, too, could not be reached for comment, while his lawyer refused to give a statement. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab/DVM, GMA News