Chiz Talks Sense INDEED, IF THE P200-M PDAF WAS STOLEN, HOW COME THE SENATORS DID NOT COMPLAIN?

By Manny Pinol

A few years ago, my younger brother, M’lang Mayor Lito Pinol, approached Senator Jinggoy Estrada requesting for a P10-M share from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), conveniently called “Pork Barrel” for the dredging of the Malasila River near the Liguasan Marsh area which separates the towns of Tulunan and M’lang.

The Malasila River periodically overflows during the rainy season and destroys the crops of the Muslim farmers of Barangay Gaunan along with several areas in Barangay Lepaga and the areas in the other side of the river belonging to Tulunan.

Mayor Lito said his request was denied by Senator Estrada saying that he had no more funds for the project.

I recall that story recounted to me by my brother in the light of the vehement denial of Estrada and Senators Bong Revilla and Juan Ponce Enrile on their involvement in the misuse of their pork barrel funds amounting to P200-M every year.

Their convenient explanation was that the documents used in releasing the P200-M were forged and the pork barrel scam issue being raised against them is politically motivated.

Revilla even has the gall and the temerity to claim that he is a target of black propaganda because he is running for President of the Philippines in 2016.

But going back to the Jinggoy Estrada story on how he refused a P10-M funding request which would have greatly helped the farmers of Tulunan and M’lang.

How did he know that he had no more P10-M to spare but not know that his P200-M PDAF was “stolen” by a syndicate led by Janet Lim Napoles through the use of “forged” documents?

Would these three senators not have raised hell after discovering that their P200-M annual PDAF could not be accounted for and was released under their very nose by a “forgery” syndicate?

This is actually what adds salt and insult to the injury suffered by the Filipino people.

Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla may really think that majority of the Filipinos are stupid with an IQ of a moron and believe their yarn that they never had any idea that their PDAF was “stolen.”

Senator Chiz Escudero, outspoken and frank as always, said it right when he said that it is not enough for the three senators to claim that their PDAF was stolen and that the issue is just politics.

Indeed, if forged documents were used in releasing the funds, where then is the original document?

Would these Senators not have asked their staff: “Hey, what happened to ‘my’ P200-M PDAF for this year? Why have I not signed anything for its release? Where is ‘my’ money?”

When I was Governor of North Cotabato, the rundown of the daily disbursements of funds in my office was at the tip of my fingers and could easily be given to me by a desk called Internal Control Division, a section created by my predecessor, the late Gov. Rosario P. Diaz, M.D.

Everyday, I would know how much funds were left for donations, MOOE, intelligence, grants and others. And these were just in the hundreds of thousands to a few million pesos.

Here the Senators are talking about P200-M in pork barrel funds every year and these would disappear without them knowing about it?

Somebody should tell these Senators: “Tell that to the Marines!”