MANILA, Philippines - The Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s investigation into the congressional pork barrel scam should now focus on 74 other non-government organizations (NGOs) identified by the Commission on Audit (COA) as conduits of the Priority Development Assistance Fund from 2007 to 2009, Sen. Francis Escudero said yesterday.
Escudero said the 74 NGOs should be the next agenda before the committee moves to the Malampaya fund issue.
Committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said they should wrap up the probe on suspected pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles and move to the alleged misuse of the Malampaya fund.
He said he felt the committee achieved its objectives after hearing the testimony of the whistle-blowers, COA officials and Napoles.
However, Escudero noted that of the 82 NGOs mentioned by the COA report as recipients of PDAF, only eight were linked to Napoles.
“The Senate must also look into the 74 others because the amount of funds that they took was bigger (than those of Napoles’ NGOs),” he said in an interview over radio station dwIZ.
He said the 74 NGOs used the same scheme as the eight Napoles NGOs in securing the PDAF of legislators.
He also cited reports that there are whistle-blowers who are willing to come out against the 74 NGOs.
Escudero said he would also want to hear from Napoles’ husband, Jaime, about their businesses, supposedly the source of their wealth.
He also asked the Department of Justice to include a certain former bank manager said to be responsible for several transactions of Napoles and became one of her employees.
He said the former bank manager could face the same charge as Napoles if conspiracy is proven.
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