Former House deputy speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella and his supporters are convinced that attempts to link him to the so-called pork barrel scam are politically motivated.
According to Fuentebella’s lawyer Jose Miguel Palarca, the primary suspect is a detractor who received a humiliating defeat during the last congressional election in the second district of Camarines Sur.
Palarca adds that the detractor is the same person who is trying to move heaven and earth to stop the Sandiganbayan from issuing an arrest warrant against him for the alleged anomalous purchase of P20 million worth of oil during his stewardship of the province of CamSur.
The detractor reportedly also has yet to account for P3 billion in loans from the Development Bank of the Philippines, as well as billions more in infrastructure funding from the Arroyo administration, according to a COA Special Audit Report from 2010 to 2012.
Palarca also revealed that the detractor is being aided in spreading lies by his fellow losers in the mayoral elections in Sagnay and Tigaon.
But Palarca emphasizes that Fuentebella is not losing sleep over his detractors “baseless†allegations.
One of the allegations against Fuentebella is that 4,000 bags of NFA rice purchased using his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) did not reach their intended beneficiaries.
But Palarca pointed out that no less than Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman and resident auditors of the Department of Agriculture witnessed the turnover of the rice to 112,000 household beneficiaries. There are pictures and videos too of the rice distribution which were done in all the 299 barangays of the fourth district of Camarines Sur by the solon to the beneficiaries with the assistance of all the respective barangay officials, he added.
The DA’s Regional Field Unit No.5 also issued a certification last Sept. 3, to the effect that the projects in which Fuentebella’s PDAF were used were all above board, including the purchase of the NFA rice worth P16.37 million which was directly transacted by DA-RFU-5 with the NFA (government-to-government purchase).
DA-RFU-5 OIC executive director Abelardo Bragas also certified as to the regularity of the projects for which payments were made to the following: NFA, P16.37 million; RNM Feeds Veterinary Poultry Supply, P4.2 million; Bicol JL Agri Corp., P282,432.15; Bitstop Bicol Sales Center, P324,387.46; and Geronimo Petron Station, P76,850.
If some documentary issues have cropped up regarding DA-RFU-5’s implementation of the projects, Bragas said Fuentebella has nothing to do with them since the solon never meddled in the projects.
Another issue that has been raised against Fuentebella is that the DA main office is investigating his alleged link to a bogus non-governmental organization. Palarca said the DA launched the investigation because of the protestations made by Fuentebella regarding the unauthorized initial disbursement by DA of P750,000 to an NGO.
Palarca added that Fuentebella knew nothing about the P5 million, much more the already released P750,000, and this was affirmed by certifications issued by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and DA internal auditor lawyer Irene Alagoc, with the latter noting that in their validation, Fuentebella never signed any endorsement in favor of any NGO.
In response to the written query of Alagoc on what should be done with the remainder of the P5 million, Fuentebella demanded that the DA return the entire P5 million to the National Treasury.
Meanwhile, Palarca denied that Fuentebella received an allocation of P197.8 million for VILP (various infrastructure and local projects) under the Arroyo administration.
He said that there was no allocation in the amount of P197.8 million in the fourth district during the period because Fuentebella earned the ire of the powers-that-be when he participated in the impeachment of then President Arroyo on September 5, 2005.
As to the release of P18 million to the Partido District Cooperative Development, Inc. (PDDCI), the release was for the entire fourth or Partido District and not solely for the municipality of Tigaon as alleged. And contrary to the misinformation, the project had been properly liquidated and accounted for, as attested to by the implementing agencies and the resident auditor then, Fuentebella’s lawyer stressed.
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