Janet Lim-Napoles Watch: NBI Files Plunder Case vs. Pork Barrel Scam Queen, 3 Senators; Enrile Has High Blood Pressure (VIDEO & MEME PHOTOS)
The Philippine National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice filed on Monday afternoon with the Office of the Ombudsman plunder and malversation of public funds charges against suspected pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles, 3 Philippine senators and five former congressmen.
The cases stem from channeling of P10 billion pork barrel funds of some legislators through fake nongovernmental organisations that Ms Napoles created with her household helpers and other employees fronting as her dummies.
The three senators, who allegedly demand a share of the pork barrel money, and the amount of public funds involved, are former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (P172.8 million), Senator Ramon Revilla Jr (P224.5 million) and Senator Jinggoy Estrada (P183.8 million).
The former congressmen are Rizalina Seachon-Lanete (P108.4 million), Edgar Valdez (P56 million), Rodolfo Plaza (P42 million), Samuel Dangwa (P26.7 million) and Constantino Jaraula (P20.8 million).
However, the last three representatives are excluded from the plunder charge since the amount involved is below the threshold of P50 million. But they are facing malversation of public funds, direct bribery and other breaches of the Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Ms Napoles was named as the co-conspirator of the five legislators in the plunder case. A total of 38 people are included in the charge, including the former chief of staff of Enrile, lawyer Jessica Reyes, who fled the Philippines for Macau last week.
The three senators had previously denied involvement in the scam by claiming their signatures were forged or it is not their responsibility to verify the identities of the NGOs that ask funds from their pork barrel funds.
Mr Enrile, who has a record of faking his ambush in 1972 to justify the imposition of Martial Law by then President Ferdinand Marcos, claimed his high blood pressure had gone up and is hospitalised, Mr Estrada said.
Becoming ill when facing charges has been the easy way out of government officials facing investigation, and the wheelchair is one of their favourite props. Ms Napoles, who has diabetes and hypertension, in fact has been given an aircon room for her detention cell.
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Meanwhile, another prominent Marcos figure came out on Monday, claiming Ms Napoles actually had lunch with President Benigno Aquino III on the same day that the pork barrel scam queen surrendered to the president on Aug 28.
Former Information Minister Francisco Tatad, who made the Martial Law announcement in 1972, made the claim in his Manila Standard column.
"This incredible detail was completely left out of Malacanang's official statement, which had sought to present Aquino's meeting with Napoles as no more than a 10-minute affair that ended an otherwise fruitless manhunt of a celebrated fugitive search from justice, and was witnessed by several Cabinet members and duly recorded for posterity by the Malacanang press office."
Mr Tatad, however, anticipated the story will be denied by Malacanang, which it described as pure fiction.
"The storyline pushed by Tatad is an obvious fabrication ... This grandiose conspiracy theory peddled by Tatad is symptomatic of the old order that has been swept away. He represents what is wrong with our politics," read the Malacanang statement which added that Mr Aquino attended to high-profile events on the day of the alleged lunch with hundreds of attendees.
Whose version is true becomes more confusing since Mr Aquino previously denied knowing the Napoleses, but several pictures of him came out with not only the Napoles daughter, but the entire family and their social-climbing friends in a November 2012 photo opportunity.
Read more:
Janet Lim-Napoles Watch: Former Maid Reveals that Pork Barrel Scam Queen Allegedly Bathes in Milk
Janet Lim-Napoles Watch: Photos of Pork Barrel Scam Queen with Senate President, Daughter with Philippine President Spread on Social Media
Janet Lim-Napoles Watch: More Photos of the Napoleses With President Aquino; Whistleblower Says Pork Barrel Scam Queen Sometimes Keeps Excess Cash in Bathtub
Janet Lim-Napoles Watch: Pork Barrel Scam Queen in Another Photo Op, This Time with Ex-President Estrada & Family