Rep. Rufus Rodriguez: I didn’t receive money from Napoles

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Friday criticized the filing of graft cases against him and several other personalities in connection with the pork barrel scam, insisting that he didn't receive any money from alleged scam brains, Janet Lim-Napoles.

“I do not know Ms. Janet Napoles personally or otherwise … I do not know and have never met personally any officer/functionary of any NGO associated with, or owned [by] Ms. Janet Napoles; and I never received any amount of money from her,” Rodriguez said in an emailed statement.

 

Rodriguez maintained that his signatures in all the Commission on Audit (COA) documents used by the National Bureau of Investigation as evidence in filing the complaint against him were forged.

 

“When I received 18 documents from COA regarding this matter, I had all the documents examined by the NBI which came out with an official finding that all my 18 signatures in all 18 documents were forgeries,” Rodriguez said.

 

But Rodriguez said that despite this finding by the NBI, the Department of Justice (DOJ) did not give him the opportunity to present his side through a proper hearing.

 

“I expected the DOJ to summon me so that I can face my accusers and read the evidence against me. But I was not given a chance to present my side. There was no due process. I was not given due notice and hearing,” Rodriguez said.

 

Rodriguez said he will file a petition for certiorari and prohibition with the Supreme Court to suspend the Ombudsman’s proceedings and to order that the complaint be sent back to the DOJ.

 

“I am filing a petition of certiorari and prohibition in the Supreme Court that will suspend the proceedings in the Ombudsman pending the remand of the Complaint back to the DOJ for proper proceedings with due notice and hearing to be afforded to me so that I can answer all allegations against me and present my evidence,” Rodriguez said. — Elizabeth Marcelo/RSJ, GMA News