We didn’t railroad pork charges – Noy

NAGA CITY, Philippines – President Aquino yesterday debunked allegations that politics played a role in the filing of graft and plunder charges against those involved in the pork barrel scam.

In a speech delivered here on the occasion of the 116th anniversary of the country’s independence where he also honored the 15 martyrs of Bicol, the President said the government could have railroaded the charges if it wanted to.

“We could have rushed this from the onset, bringing to court accusations without sufficient proof – if our intention was to simply damage the reputation of the accused. However, as you have witnessed, we chose to pursue the truth by using the proper system,” he said.

The President was reacting to the statements of Senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada that the charges filed against them were trumped up and smacked of political machinations.

Aquino noted the allegations started in 2013, but it took time for the charges to be filed because the government followed the correct process.

“And now, after all that we have done, we are the ones being called out for politicking? I leave it to you now to choose who is telling the truth,” he said.

He also pointed out that his only instruction to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is to make sure no accusations are made without sufficient proof.

The President said the experience of his family in the hands of the Marcos dictatorship, citing what his father, the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., went through, has taught him to value due process.

Ninoy, Marcos’ most vocal critic, was assassinated in August 1983.

Aquino said the experience instilled in him the importance of fighting for equality to break the vicious cycle of injustice.

“Now that I am in a position to apply these principles, I will continue to do everything in my power to proffer justice not to a select few, but to the entire nation,” he said.

He also called on the people to pay tribute to the country’s heroes who fought for what was right and just, citing those involved in the 1986 People Power revolution and the late Naga mayor and interior secretary Jesse Robredo.

“May they inspire us, as we continue to tread the straight path. Let us take to heart and live out the lesson they have bequeathed to us: that it is care and compassion for our fellowmen that will allow us to realize the aspirations we share as one people,” he said.

“Only in this way can we say that we are truly worthy of their sacrifice; only in this way can we bring about a truly just, truly free Philippines,” he added.

What selective justice?

Commission on Audit Chairman Grace Pulido-Tan also disputed Estrada’s claim of “selective justice” against him and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Revilla.

“There is no such thing. We were not selective in our special audit of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Our report speaks for itself: it covered all members of Congress in 2007 to 2009,” she said in a television interview Wednesday night.

She said the special audit report shows where the lawmakers allocated billions in PDAF and what her auditors thought were irregularities in the use of such funds.

She said Annex A of the report lists the 82 non-government organizations (NGOs) that received about P6.2 billion from lawmakers, and the names of senators and members of the House of Representatives who funneled their PDAF to these groups.

Although they did not focus on personalities, the COA chief said they were surprised to find out that some lawmakers repeatedly allocated their funds to a select group of NGOs, including 10 linked to alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

According to the audit report, the 10 Napoles foundations cornered about P2.1 billion of the P6.2 billion that was diverted to NGOs. Of the P2.1 billion, more than P1 billion came from the PDAF of Estrada, Enrile and Revilla.

Tan also disputed Estrada’s claim that the Office of the Ombudsman “railroaded” the filing of plunder and graft charges against them.

On the contrary, she said Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales took the time she needed to satisfy the requirements of due process.

“They already found probable cause to indict the accused in March, but the ombudsman had to give them time to file their motion of reconsideration. And it took the ombudsman from March up to last week to indict them before the Sandiganbayan. Due process really takes time,” she said.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also disputed Estrada’s claim of selective justice.

“Why we are only going after the three? That is incorrect. The DOJ has already filed several cases. They have filed the cases against the three senators together with some members, former members of the House of Representatives,” he said.

“There are actually three sets of cases now in different stages of the proceedings,” he added.

Marred by politics

Estrada failed to attend the 116th Independence Day celebration at the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City yesterday morning.

Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan told reporters that Estrada called him up Wednesday night to say he is not coming “because he doesn’t want the occasion to be marred by politics.”

An ally of Malapitan, Estrada was present during the mayor’s inauguration last year and was supposed to be the keynote speaker at yesterday’s event. –With Jess Diaz, Rey Galupo