Asset forfeiture eyed in pork scam

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) is likely to initiate forfeiture proceedings in court to recover alleged ill-gotten assets – including real estate properties – of those linked to the pork barrel scam.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima relayed the DOJ position through Negros Occidental Rep. Mercedes Alvarez to the House of Representatives during plenary debates on the department’s 2014 budget Thursday night. Cabinet members are not allowed to directly participate in plenary debates, unlike in committee hearings.

Alvarez, an appropriations committee vice chairman, conferred with De Lima when Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon raised during the plenary the possibility of initiating forfeiture proceedings against certain individuals named in the pork barrel scam.

Ridon, who is a lawyer, said forfeiture proceedings should be pursued at some point independently of any criminal prosecution. Responding to Ridon after conferring with De Lima, Alvarez said, “Your honor, the Department of Justice will consider pursuing asset forfeiture proceedings against the (pork barrel scam) suspects.”

“Would such action be separate from the suspects’ criminal prosecution?” Ridon asked.

“Yes, it will be a separate action,” Alvarez replied.

The DOJ – through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – filed plunder and malversation complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman against 38 individuals suspected of involvement in the anomalous disbursement of congressional pork barrel, officially called Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). The respondents in the cases included three senators.

The DOJ may initiate the filing of forfeiture case, but it is the Office of the Ombudsman which can do the actual filing with the Sandiganbayan.

While bank deposits may be frozen through the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Ridon said other assets, including expensive mansions and other real properties and luxury vehicles, could be targeted using the law on forfeiture before they are dissipated.

Ridon said under the law on forfeiture, assets that are grossly not commensurate to a public officer’s legal income could be considered as having been acquired through illegal means.

Earlier, De Lima said the NBI was coordinating with the AMLC for the freezing of the bank accounts of Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr. and 35 others charged with plunder and malversation of public funds before the Office off the Ombudsman.

Plunder is a non-bailable offense.

Also charged with plunder was businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, widely considered to have orchestrated the pork barrel scam in collusion with lawmakers and other public officials.

The Court of Appeals, ruling on a petition from the AMLC, has ordered a freeze on Napoles’ bank accounts. Napoles’ assets that may be subjected to forfeiture include 50 residential houses and condominium units and 28 luxury vehicles.

According to the NBI, Estrada, Enrile and Revilla received about P580 million in kickbacks from NGOs linked to Napoles.

Based on a Commission on Audit (COA) report, the three senators, together with Sen. Gregorio Honasan, gave foundations linked to Napoles about P1.1 billion between 2007 and 2009. 

Flight means guilt

Emerging from the House session, De Lima said guilt may have prompted six of the 38 respondents in the plunder and malversation cases to leave the country.

She said the NBI would try to seek help from governments of the countries where the six were last reported in monitoring their movements.

De Lima said the six could not be compelled to return since there are no charges yet against them filed in court.

“Right now, there’s no recourse. The most that we can do is coordinate with our counterparts in countries where they may be found to monitor their movement,” she said.

“Nothing prevents us from tapping this cooperation between and among agencies,” she added.

She pointed out “there are certain modes like extradition to bring them back” once charges against them are filed with the Sandiganbayan.

“We could not help think that on the psychological side of things, if they are leaving the country, then isn’t that an indication that they could have done something wrong?” she told reporters.

She was commenting on a report from the Bureau of Immigration that the six have left the country.

“There may be legitimate purpose of travel. That’s why part of my instructions to BI (Bureau of Immigration) is to find out, if possible, if there are records of purpose of their travel and possibly their whereabouts,” De Lima said.

The six are lawyer Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, former chief of staff of Enrile; Ruby Tuazon, a representative of Enrile and Estrada; former Technology Resources Center (TRC) director general Antonio Ortiz, former TRC deputy director general Dennis Cunanan; Nemesio Pablo Jr., who headed Agri and Economic Programs for Farmers Foundation Inc., and former Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza.

At least one of the six, Cunanan, has vowed to return to face the charges against him.

A lawyer for Enrile earlier said the senator did not authorize his chief of staff or any of his employees to give any portion of his pork barrel funds to NGOs. With Aie Balagtas See, Marvin Sy