Lawmaker’s signatures on P2-M PDAF papers forged

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) found that the signatures of Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on documents covering P2 million in his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation had been forged.

Rodriguez himself requested the NBI to examine his supposed signatures on the PDAF papers and his genuine signatures on 25 documents he submitted to the agency.

He said he allocated P2 million to the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) “in good faith” for livelihood projects.

“I did not know that they would give my funds to a Napoles non-governmental organization. Certainly, I did not authorize that,” he said, referring to detained alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

The PDAF was the annual P25-billion congressional pork barrel until the Supreme Court scrapped it in November 2013 for being unconstitutional. It allocated P200 million for each senator and P70 million for each member of the House of Representatives.

The PDAF papers that Rodriguez questioned included supposed letters to then TLRC director general Antonio Ortiz and a memorandum of agreement between the Cagayan de Oro City lawmaker and a Napoles foundation.

In Questioned Documents Report No. 430-914, Rafael Marcos Zagos, NBI deputy director for forensic investigation, said the signatures in the documents Rodriguez submitted to the NBI were not the same as those appearing in the PDAF papers.

Zagos said the differences were noted in the “structural pattern of letters, connecting strokes, manner of execution of strokes and minute identifying details.”

Rodriguez said he could not understand why the Department of Justice (DOJ) still included him in the third and last batch of PDAF cases filed last week despite the NBI report on his forged signatures.

“The DOJ violated my right to due process. I was not called to any hearing or investigation. I was not informed of the charges and the evidence. I was not given the opportunity to confront witnesses, if there was any. I was not given the chance to present my side and my evidence,” he added.

He said the Office of the Ombudsman should return the third batch of cases to the DOJ for proper investigation.

“I do not know Napoles or any of her people or NGOs. I did not allocate my funds to Napoles or her NGOs,” he maintained.

Like Rodriguez, Rep. Conrado Estrella lll of party-list group Abono cried lack of due process.

“Clearly, there is lack of due process, we were never given a chance to air our side and to dispute the allegation against us. Definitely, there is injustice here,” Estrella said.

“The recommendation to file charges against us lacks basis since the NBI itself already came out with findings that my signatures were forged. It is very ironic that the findings of the NBI, which is under the DOJ, would be contradicted by the mother agency,” he added.