'NBI probing 3 ex-senators tagged in Napoles scam'

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation is looking into the alleged involvement of three former senators in the "pork barrel" controversy, lawyer Levito Baligod said.

"Mayroon pong mga dating senador. Mga tatlo po ang naalala ko," Baligod said in an interview with dzMM on Thursday.

Baligod, however, refused to name the other lawmakers tagged in the multibillion-peso scam as the investigation is still underway. The lawyer filed the original plunder complaint against Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

He said that the names appeared in the testimonies of principal whistle-blower Benhur Luy and other former employees of the businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

"Lahat ng pangalan ng legislator na lumalabas sa financial record ni Benhur ay nai-file na rin po namin sa Department of Justice, kumpleto po 'yun. 'Yung computer file ni Benhur Luy ay ipinailalim na namin sa forensic examination ng NBI," Baligod said.

Baligod cited the possibility that the unnamed lawmakers will also face plunder charges for misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Funds scam in the next batch of charges to be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.

He also brushed off criticisms of Vice President Jejomar Binay that allies of President Benigno Aquino III are seemingly spared from legal consequences sought by the DOJ.

"Never naging pamantayan ang political affiliation ng mga kinakasuhan natin," Baligod said.

Binay had said that the Ombudsman's decision to file plunder charges against Revilla, Estrada, and Enrile is a "test of the fairness and trustworthiness of our legal system."

"The case will also test if the drive for reforms will be blind to political motives. If it stops with the filing of the plunder cases against three senators who are not political allies and confines itself to the Napoles case, it will create the impression of being selective, and that political partisanship – not justice – is the sole motivation behind these charge," Binay said in a statement Wednesday.

Former Representatives Rizalina Seachon-Lanete, Edgar Valdez, Rodolfo Plaza, Samuel Dangwa and Constantino Jaraula as well as several heads and officials of agencies and their staff similarly face plunder charges  for alleged theft of government funds through Napoles-led non-government projects. The cases were filed by the National Bureau of Investigation in September 2013.