De Lima waits for more affidavits before filing 3rd batch of pork cases 

 

But Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday said she would still await additional sworn statements from whistleblowers in the P10-billion fund scam before she gives the go signal, saying she wants to make sure the cases are strong. 

 

"Sinubmit na [sa akin] iyong mga documents na hinihingi ko although mayroon pa akong hinihintay na additional, supplemental affidavits from the whistleblowers on the issue of forgery," De Lima told reporters.

 

She said she is expecting to get additional "sinumpaang salaysay" from at least "two to three" whistleblowers.

 

Asked what the additional affidavits' purpose would be when the National Bureau of Investigation had already established a case against the suspects, De Lima said: "Para lang lalong matibay ang kaso."

 

She admitted that draft transmittal letters for the third batch of cases are already in her hands for review.

 

Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano on Tuesday said report on on the third batch would first have to go through De Lima, who will have a last say on who would be charged, before being forwarded to the Ombudsman.

 

In turn, the Ombudsman would be tasked to either conduct further probe or a preliminary investigation for filing with the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.

 

Honasan and the incumbent and former members of the House of Representatives would be facing charges of graft and malversation, Justiniano had said.

 

It has already been a year and a half since the DOJ filed the second batch of pork barrel cases and the third batch has yet to be filed. In comparison, it only took two months after the first batch to file the second batch in November 2013.

 

Part of the delay can be attributed to findings of by the NBI of several forged signatures of implicated lawmakers in pork barrel-related documents. The NBI and Justiniano eventually decided that despite forged signatures, cases against the government officials can still be pursued with the help of other supporting evidence.

 

Justiniano was the one who supervised the case build-up over the pork barrel scam-related complaints while they were still at the DOJ. After the cases were filed with the Ombudsman, Justiniano was tapped to help the Ombudsman in defending the first batch of cases before the Sandiganbayan. 

 

The fund scam involved the illegal diversion of Priority Development Assistance Fund of lawmakers to bogus non-government organizations of alleged mastermind Janet Napoles for non-existent projects. The money are then split between Napoles and the lawmakers.

 

Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Ramon Revilla, as well as former Customs commissioner Ruffy Biazon are among the people charged in the first and second batches of cases. - JJ, GMA News