Ex-lawmaker implicated in PDAF scam says Speaker has discretion over ‘pork’

A former lawmaker has claimed he was wrongfully charged by the Ombudsman over the pork barrel scam by saying it was the House Speaker who had discretion over the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations rather than lawmakers themselves.

In a reply submitted to the Sandiganbayan Second Division last September 8, former Albay representative Reno Lim refuted the prosecution’s argument that he had personal and “effective control of his PDAF and thus was accountable” for the disbursement of P30 million to bogus non-government organizations.

He said his letters dated August 29, 2007 and November 21, 2007 to then- Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., in which he asked for the release of two tranches of his PDAF allocation with a total worth of P15 million for the implementation of his livelihood projects, cannot be considered proof of his accountability.

“The letters mentioned were actually ‘protocol letters, a standard operating procedure prescribed in the House of Representatives for the release of the PDAF allocation. Protocol letters do not carry the weight of an order,” Lim said.

“The said letters were in the nature of a request and the Speaker of the House had a complete discretion to act on it. He may or may not endorse it to the DBM. The point is, accused Lim, or any congressman for that matter, had no effective control on the PDAF allocation,” he added.

Lim said it was only upon the Speaker’s approval that his PDAF allocation will be released to the Technology Resource Center (TRC), which he claimed had actual control over his pork barrel funds.

The former lawmaker is facing four counts each of graft and malversation of public funds in connection with the pork barrel scam.

He was accused of conspiring with officials of the government-run TRC and the NGO Kaagapay Magpakailanman Foundation Inc. (KMFI) for fraudulent transactions involving his PDAF in 2007.

Based on the charge sheet, Lim “personally handpicked KMFI twice as project implementor without the benefit of public bidding”.

Both the Ombudsman’s investigation and the Commission on Audit’s verification showed the livelihood programs funded by Lim’s PDAF allocation were “fictitious or ghost projects” as state auditors failed to find proof that the kits reached their intended beneficiaries.

Lim’s camp, however, insisted he committed no wrongdoing in the use of his PDAF.

“It is unfair to the [defendant] to be accused of conspiracy in the commission of the crime charged, when in truth and in fact, he is innocent of all the charges,” his lawyers said. —ALG, GMA News