After requesting the cancellation of passports of three senators and 34 others linked to the pork barrel scam, the government is set to request the same against the 24 people charged in the P900-million Malampaya Fund scandal. Pinag-aaralan po namin iyan (cancellation of passports of people in Malampaya Fund mess). Baka iyon ang isusunod natin kasi graft and corruption din iyon. Large-scale graft and corruption din yun, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters in Manila. Among the respondents in the complaint concerning the alleged misuse of the Malampaya discretionary fund are former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, former Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and his Undersecretary Rafael Nieto, DAR finance officer Teresita Panlilio, former Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya and his Undersecretary Mario Relampagos. Mrs. Arroyo is currently under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City for a separate plunder complaint in connection with the alleged misuse of PCSO funds amounting to P365 million. She was earlier allowed to post bail over an electoral sabotage case pending before a Pasay court. The Justice chief said these legal moves including requesting the cancellation of passports were timely. I think tamang panahon para i-consider yung mga ganyang legal move to give teeth to our fight against graft and corruption, she said. Asked when the Justice Department would formally request such cancellation, De Lima said puwedeng before while waiting for the action of DFA (on our earlier request) or after na lang. Depende kung anong action ng DFA. On Thursday, the DOJ asked the Foreign Affairs Department to cancel the passports of Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. and 34 others implicated in the P10-billion pork barrel scam. All are facing charges of plunder, malversation and corruption of public officials before the Office of the Ombudsman. The Malampaya natural gas field is located in the West Philippine Sea, off northwest Palawan. The project is spearheaded by the Department of Energy and operated by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) with joint venture partners Chevron Malampaya LLC and PNOC Exploration Corporation. In February this year, the Malampaya consortium paid the government $1.1 billion in royalties from the deep water gas-to-power project. During Mrs. Arroyos term, portions of the Malampaya fund were authorized to be used for victims of storms Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009. However, whistleblowers in the fund scandal claimed these funds were funneled into Napoles NGOs. Premature? De Lima dismissed accusations that the cancellation request was premature since no cases have been formally filed yet with the Sandiganbayan. Kaya nga naisipan namin na humanap ng tamang basehan para siguraduhin na yung ating mga kinakasuhan mapapaharap sa proseso ng batas. Naisipan namin iyan kaysa by the time yung kaso nasa Sandiganbayan na, ilan sa kanila o baka karamihan sa kanila wala na po sa atin, she said. The three senators were accused of pocketing portions of their PDAF: Revilla (P224.5 million in alleged kickbacks), Enrile (P172.8 million) and Estrada (P183.79 million). Also included in the PDAF-related complaint are incumbent Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete (P108.4 million), a former lawmaker, and former APEC party-list Rep. Edgar Valdez (P56.09 million). Meanwhile, three former congressmen were charged for malversation, direct bribery, and other graft and corrupt practices: former Rep. Rodolfo Plaza (P42.1 million) former Rep. Samuel Dangwa (P26.77 million) former Rep. Constantino Jaraula (P20.84 million). Others included in the complaint were several former and incumbent officials of government agencies as well as alleged officials of Napoles NGOs
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:35:52 +0000