Palace: DBM chief still enjoys P-Noy’s trust

MANILA, Philippines - Budget Secretary Florencio Abad need not take a leave of absence in the face of allegations of involvement in the pork barrel scam, Malacañang said yesterday.

“Secretary Abad continues to enjoy the President’s trust and confidence,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a text message to Palace reporters.

“A mere allegation concerning actions taken in a previous position does not affect the presumption of regularity in connection with the performance of current duties,” he added.

Abad, along with Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala – as former congressmen of Batanes and Quezon, respectively – were among former and incumbent lawmakers in the combined list of suspected pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles and whistle-blower Benhur Luy as revealed by former senator and now rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson.

Coloma also noted that the two secretaries’ alleged involvement in the scam were in relation to their being former lawmakers and not in their capacity as incumbent Cabinet secretaries.

Abad, a stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party, denied any involvement in the scandal, saying he “never dealt with Napoles or any of her fake NGOs in any way throughout my career in public service.”

“Either as representative of Batanes, as budget and management secretary, or as an official of any other public office that has been entrusted to me,” he said in a statement.

“I have spent my professional life – inside government and in civil society – working to improve the lives of ordinary Filipinos by pushing for reforms in public governance,” he added.

He said his pork barrel allocations when he was still a legislator have all been “aboveboard” and assured the public that none have been coursed through any fake NGO.

“Unlike other personalities dragged into the PDAF scam of 2007-2009, who have been implicated by evidence and testimony by whistle-blowers, nothing credible has been brought against me – but rather, unfounded allegations and malicious name-calling,” he said.

He said he finds it “amusing, if not outright revolting, that I am once again in the crosshairs of those who want the Aquino administration to fall.”

Abad said he has long accepted the possibility that he would be dragged into controversies since his job entails ensuring that every centavo of taxpayers’ money is put to good use.

He said he expects the tirades to continue until 2016, when the campaign for the next president will kick off. He said more “absurd allegations” would come out, but expressed confidence that people will see through the difference between lies and the truth.

“Until the public sees the true affidavit of Napoles, and until hard evidence supports the statements in this affidavit, everything is speculation, if not total fabrication, at this point,” the DBM chief said.

“I ask the public not to immediately believe these allegations, but to weigh the only thing that matters in the end: the evidence,” he added.

He said the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman should continue with its investigation, “follow the evidence wherever it may lead them, and take appropriate action on behalf of the people.”

Complete surprise

Meanwhile, Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas said the inclusion of his name in the list “comes as a complete surprise and is most unfair to my name and person.”

“For the record, I belong to the 16th Congress that no longer has a PDAF after it was outlawed by the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement.

He said he was the only first-term lawmaker in the list, having been elected only last year.

Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen said the release of the list was irresponsible, adding that Lacson is “trying to play hero at our expense.” He also challenged Lacson to substantiate his allegation with documents.

In a telephone interview with The STAR, Dilangalen also denied knowing Napoles.

Integrity of the list

Senators Loren Legarda, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Francis Escudero, Aquilino Pimentel III, Alan Cayetano and Pia Cayetano also belied links with Napoles and questioned the integrity of her supposed list.

“I categorically deny any alleged involvement with Ms. Janet Napoles. I do not know her and have never dealt with her personally or otherwise,” Legarda said.

Legarda, who has also been implicated by Luy, said she has never endorsed any NGO to benefit from her PDAF, and disputed Napoles’ alleged affidavit identifying her as one of the senators who benefited from the pork barrel scam.

“Any statement to the contrary that may be in her supposed affidavit is a perjured lie and is actionable criminally against her and all those involved in this political smear campaign,” she said.

Escudero also denied knowing Napoles, adding that he never allocated a single peso to any of her NGOs.

Marcos, who maintained he never misused his PDAF, said he would want to see the list first before commenting on it.

Former senator Manuel Villar said he has no personal or official dealings with Napoles.

“It’s very unfair, not to mention totally baseless, that my name is being dragged into this issue, which has become so politicized,” he said.

“It seems that a new list is being drawn everyday. I too hope for the truth to come out, which the taxpaying public justly deserves,” he added.

Cayetano said Napoles’ supposed list was a “weapon of mass distraction and destruction” in a bid to divert the attention of the public on the real culprits of the pork barrel fund misuse.

He said Napoles wants to destroy those who are against her and her cohorts, and they are the only ones who would benefit from the confusion.

Napoles claimed Cayetano got 50 percent during their supposed transaction, adding that a certain “Tito Boy” acted as the senator’s agent, who got a five percent share.

“My role was mostly a financier,” Napoles supposedly said in a narration of events.

She said Cayetano also personally received cash for his campaign in a meeting at the Slice Restaurant at The Fort.

Senators Vicente Sotto and Gregorio Honasan have not commented on the controversy. – With Zinnia dela Peña, Paolo Romero, Perseus Echeminada, Christina Mendez