Agriculture

Pork Barrel Scam Probe WITNESS CUNANAN BARES UNBEARABLE PRESSURE FROM SENATORS, CONGRESSMEN

MANILA, Philippines – Employees of the Technology Resource Center came under “undue and unbearable pressure” from lawmakers who endorsed – and whose staff actively followed up on – multimillion projects funded by their pork barrel, coursed through the agency, and executed by eight shell organizations linked to Janet Lim Napoles, embattled TRC Director General Dennis Cunanan has claimed.

In his affidavit submitted to the Justice department, a copy of which was obtained by InterAksyon.com, Cunanan said that in the case of 18 congressmen who endorsed use of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to eight nongovernment organizations linked to Janet Lim Napoles, the pressure was up close and personal: one congressman spent the whole day at the TRC, waiting for the release of a check to his duly designated NGO.

Cunanan also directly disputed the claims of three senators who were impleaded in plunder cases pending with the Office of the Ombudsman, that: their roles were limited to “at best recommendatory” in picking the NGOs to execute PDAF-funded projects coursed through TRC; that they never lobbied the TRC to honor their choice of the Napoles-linked NGOs; that their signatures in some documents may have been forged.

Cunanan, among those charged with plunder at the Ombudsman and whose testimony is now being vetted amid a proposal to make him state witness, claimed that ever since Napoles–who first came to his office sometime in 2006 or 2007– introduced herself to him as someone acting on behalf of several lawmakers who had endorsed their PDAF to her NGOs, his office had been under relentless pressure from lawmakers’ staff and lobbyists from the Napoles group, including chief whistle blower Ben Hur Luy who once, to impress him, whipped out his cell phone and supposedly dialled the numbers of Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.; and from the lawmakers’ offices.

“True enough, soon after Mrs. Napoles’ visit, the TRC started to receive letters from certain legislators informing us that they have allocated part of their PDAF fort projects which are to be implemented by the NGOs they have chosen and/or that the SAROs for the said PDAF-funded Projects were in fact already issued by the Department of Budget and Management,” Cunanan said in his affidavit.

“Needless to state, these frequent and persistent episodes of NGO representatives and representatives of legislators standing by our Office and/or talking to us either personally or through the phone, or asking us to expedite the processing of their PDAF-funded projects, caused undue and unbearable pressure upon us. To us simple and lowly government employees, even just the letter of a Senator or Congressman following up on a project is enough to cause undue panic and pressure upon our office, since we know for a fact that Senators and Congressmen exercise functions over our agencies and wield tremendous political power,” Cunanan added.

The pressure gets worse, he added, “when the senators of congressmen and/or their representatives directly talk to us to personally follow up on their PDAF-funded projects. Needless to state, it was because of this tremendous pressure exerted by Senators Enrile, Revilla and Estrada, and certain congressmen and their representatives, together with the representatives of their selected NGOs, which compelled many of us at TRC to process and approve on their PDAF-funded projects despite our initial misgivings about the same.”

Congressmen lobbied like basketball players

As for members of the House of Representatives who coursed their PDAF through the TRC, most of the time, said Cunanan, “it was the legislators themselves who personally followed up on the status of releases and often times sought immediate processing and transfer of funds to their designated implementing NGO partners.” In fact, he said, “I remember that some congressmen and/or their authorized representatives even go to the extent of personally ‘lobbying’ at the Center for the immediate release of checks to their selected NGOs.”

He singled out Congressman Eduardo Roquero as among some legislators who “even stayed and waited the whole day at the Center until the release of checks to their duly designated NGO partner.”

Based on the TRC records shared by Cunanan, the following are the NGOs linked to Mrs. Janet Lim Napoles and/or her corporate vehicle, JLN Corp., which implemented projects funded through PDAF of legislators coursed through the TRC:

•Agricultura Para sa Magbubukid Foundation (AMFI)

•Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation (AEPFF)

•Social Development Program for Farmers Foundation (SDPFF)

•Masaganang Ani para sa Magsasaka Foundatiion, Inc. (MAMFI)

•People’s Organization forr Progress and Development Foundation, Inc. (POPFDI)

•Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. (PSDFI)

•Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic Develoipment Foundation Inc. (CARED)

•Philippine Agri and Social Economic Development Foundation Inc. (PASEDF).

Based on TRC records, the following legislators implemented projects funded by their PDAFs using NGOs linked to Mrs. Janet Lim Napoles and/or her corporate vehicle, JLN Corp., through the TRC:

•Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (amount: P21.75M)

•Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile (P29.6M)

•Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. (P48.8M)

•Rep. Amado Bagatsing (P8M)

•Rep. Antonio M. Serapio (P2.8M)

•Rep. Arrel R. Olano (P7.7M)

•Rep. Arturo Y. Pingoy Jr. (P17.6M)

•Rep. Conrado M. Estrella III (P33.1M)

•Rep. Constantino G. Jaraula (P38.4M)

•Rep. Douglas Cagas (P17.7M)

•Rep. Edgar Valdez (P18.4M)

•Rep. Joel Villanueva (P3.4M)