(LANGKAWI, Malaysia) President Benigno S. Aquino III reviews his documents during the 11th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit at the Grand Ballroom 2 of the Langkawi International Convention Centre on Tuesday (April 28, 2015). Also in photo are Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa) chairperson Luwalhati Antonino. (MNS Photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – With only a little over a year before the Aquino administration ends, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said the Department of Justice was busy squeezing in as many “urgent” cases to resolve as possible.
And apparently, the third batch of cases on the P10-billion pork barrel fund scam and those on the P900-million Malampaya fund mess are not among them.
“I don’t know if kasama iyang (third batch of pork barrel scam cases and Malampaya scam case) sa magiging concentration and focus ko because there are really very important matters on my table,” De Lima told reporters.
“Hindi ko na rin kasi natutukan because may iba na rin na mas urgent cases na I had to personally attand to,” she said.
On Monday, De Lima revealed she was drawing up a “list” of priority cases she intends to have resolved before leaving the Department of Justice.
She said this had been keeping her busy, even as she belied rumors that she was planning to resign in June to prepare for her supposed senatorial bid in May next year.
De Lima however said the DOJ would do its best “para maihabol iyan,” adding that Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano, who was in charge of supervising the pork and Malampaya cases, was “continuously working on that.”
De Lima said investigators hit a snag over the third batch when they found out that the signatures of the lawmakers implicated do not match with those found in the pork barrel fund scam documents.
“Pero pinapa-ano ko pa rin on how to really go through that na pwede pa rin maisampa iyong kaso,” she said.
De Lima said investigators are merely trying to make sure that the third batch of pork barrel fund scam cases “would stick, just like the first two batches.”
The first batch PDAF-related criminal charges were lodged in September 2013 against 38 individuals, including Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr, and Jinggoy Estrada, as well as alleged fund scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
The second batch, filed two months later in November 2013, involved graft complaints against former Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon and 33 others over the alleged misuse of “pork barrel” funds.
In between the two batches of PDAF cases, the DOJ also filed a first batch of Malampaya-related plunder complaint with the Ombudsman, charging former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Napoles, and 20 others.
It has been a year and five months since the second batch of pork barrel scam cases was filed.
The two batches of pork barrel scam complaints were filed in connection with the supposed diversion of money from the PDAF to spurious projects supposedly implemented by NGOs linked to Napoles.
Government officials allegedly ended up splitting the money with Napoles.
Last year, reports came out that Sen. Gregorio Honasan and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Joel Villanueva were among those included in the third batch that was being prepared.
The two are joined by La Union Rep. Victor Ortega (first district), former La Union Rep. Manuel Ortega, former Zamboanga Rep. Isidoro Real Jr., Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing (fifth district), Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (second district), Abono party-list Rep. Conrado Estrella III and former Abono party-list Rep. Robert Raymund Estrella.
De Lima had earlier refused to confirm if these reports were true.
But the justice secretary had admitted that Villanueva’s supposed forged signatures were among those still being “evaluated” for the third batch of complaints related to the fund scam.
De Lima admitted that the NBI finding about Villanueva’s forged signature was a “very important factor” in deciding whether to include the TESDA chief and former party-list lawmaker in the third batch of complaints.
On Tuesday, De Lima again stressed that the implicated individuals’ political affiliations have nothing to do with the delay on the third batch.
“Hindi naman lahat sa first and second batch opposition, eh. Tsaka walang pakialam doon ang NBI. I mean the task force ay walang pakialam kung ally or not,” she said.
“We just want to be very sure. Iyong sure kami na kapag ina-ano sa Ombudsman, pasado lahat. Hindi iyong mare-reject kami. Gusto lang namin maniguro na tatanggapin lahat ng Imbudsman,” De Lima added. (MNS)