Jinggoy wants 74 other NGOs probed

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Jinggoy Estrada challenged yesterday Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III to look into the legitimacy of the 74 other non-government organizations (NGOs) identified by the Commission on Audit (COA) where some lawmakers supposedly channeled their pork barrel funds.

“Why is Senator Guingona limiting the information to the NGOs linked to (Janet) Napoles?” Estrada asked after monitoring the Senate proceedings on television yesterday.

“Of the 82 NGOs, why focus only on eight and drag our names? Are they sure which of these NGOs  are legitimate or bogus,” he added.

Estrada was fuming mad when sought for comment after the Blue Ribbon committee hearing yesterday.

He accused some of his fellow senators of singling him and the other members of the Senate minority bloc out.

In an interview, he also reiterated that the Department of Agriculture, as an implementing agency, was the one that funneled the funds to the NGOs which were supposed to have been accredited by the agency.

Estrada said there is something sinister on how the Blue Ribbon panel focused the flow of the hearing only on the three senators including himself, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr.

Estrada and Enrile form part of the six-member minority bloc.

Revilla is allied with the majority bloc but he is not seeing eye to eye with President Aquino and his Liberal Party allies since their parties slugged it out during the last elections in the local race in Cavite.

Saying he smells “something fishy” on how the Blue Ribbon committee is handling the public inquiry, Estrada also posed a challenge to his Senate colleagues to verify one by one the rest of the 74 NGOs, where other lawmakers funneled their funds.

During the hearing, Estrada could only shake his head while watching the proceedings aired live on television at his residence.

He noted how administration allies are trying to limit issues on PDAF misuse only during the past Arroyo administration and sparing President Aquino’s term.

Estrada was obviously referring to Senate President Franklin Drilon, but he did not directly name him.

“There are 82 NGOs mentioned in the COA report, why are they concentrating only on the eight NGOs linked to Napoles? Why focus the inquiry to us senators? What about the other congressmen mentioned during the hearing?” Estrada said.

Estrada was reacting to the testimony of former National Agribusiness Corp. (NABCOR) vice president for administration and finance Rhodora Mendoza that Revilla, Estrada, and Enrile were among the legislators who endorsed projects to the Social Development Program for Farmers Foundations, Inc. (SDPFFI).

“I am very sure of the three senators: Revilla, Estrada and Enrile,” Mendoza told the Senate panel during the second hearing on the pork barrel scam yesterday.

Aside from the three senators, Mendoza also identified several members of the House of Representatives who endorsed alleged bogus NGOs.

The lawmakers were Reps. Conrado Estrella III, Erwin Chiongbian, Rodolfo Plaza, Victor Ortega, Samuel Dangwa, Edgar Valdez, Mark Douglas Cagas IV, Rizalina Lanete, Arthur Pingoy Jr. and Rodolfo Valencia.

“Where did the other lawmakers’ funds for NGOs go,” Estrada asked.

Mendoza also admitted to the panel that she personally knows alleged pork barrel scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy, whom she said frequently visited the NABCOR office to follow-up on the projects of the SDPFFI.

As this developed, Estrada’s half-brother, Sen. JV Ejercito, reiterated his call to the COA to conduct a special audit report that would cover the 13th Congress, to dig deeper into the shady transactions and personalities involved in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

Ejercito said that it is crucial to include the years 2004 to 2007 in the special audit considering the legitimacy of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was challenged then, and several questionable releases were allowed under the former administration.

In the spirit of transparency and accountability, Ejercito said every Congress should be audited, though it would take three years to completely examine releases made from one full term.

Ejercito also asked COA to zero in on other corporations and NGOs that use the same modus operandi as JLN Corp.