Miriam: Probe possible conspiracy between Nabcor, top gov't officials

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago wants the Senate to dig deeper into a possible conspiracy among top officials of the National Agri-Business Corporation (Nabcor) and senior government officials regarding the multi-billion fund misuse in the agency.

"I want to know what this higher level officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) were doing, if it is correct that this is a high level conspiracy. There has to be a conspiracy here because you see the results which is plunder but we have to know what is exactly the modus operandi," she said Friday in an interview at a forum in Taguig City.

Santiago said she wants the Senate committee to invite Rhodora Mendoza and Victor Roman Cacal to the hearings  in the wake of reports that the Nabcor, under the DA, was allegedly the favored agency of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla, Jr.- the three senators charged with plunder in the pork barrel fund misuse.

"That is always subject of the senatorial investigations, we want to know what was the procedure so that we can plug the loopholes of that procedure.

In Nabcor's case, Santiago noted that the conspiracy seems to have included the top executives of the agency.

"Here in this case, there is conspiracy as I've always maintain within the Senate itself, is the conspiracy comes from the very top then you need extreme measures because you know subordinates normally will not have the courage to fight against movement or a project that has begun from the very boss of the office," Santiago added.

Santiago added these are the reasons why she earlier filed Senate Resolution 575 calling onto the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to summon as resource persons into the pork barrel scam two former officials of the Nabcor.