At a media forum, lawyer Levito Baligod said he culled the names of those involved in the multimillion peso anomaly through various interviews and there is no “Benhur List.” Baligod used to be the counsel for whistleblowers Benhur Luy and Merlina Suñas.
MANILA (Mabuhay) — Another whistleblower in the pork barrel scam case has dropped Atty. Levito Baligod as her lawyer.
In a one-page letter dated May 23, Friday, Merlina Suñas said she has decided to “continue [her] battles” without the guidance of Baligod.
Suñas, however, did not provide any reason as to why she came up with the decision.
She thanked Baligod for standing beside her “despite all the difficulties that we encountered along the way.”
“Regrettably, I have decided to continue my battles without you guiding me.”
“I would like to thank you for your time and effort in protecting my rights and in representing me in my legal battles. My family and I wish you all the best, both in your personal and professional life,” she said.
“With deepest gratitude for our friendship, I formally release you from your obligation to litigate on my behalf and to represent me as my legal counsel effective today, 23 May 2014,” Suñas added.
Last March, pork scam key whisleblower Benhur Luy also dropped Baligod as his counsel, saying that the lawyer has been too busy attending to his “other advocacies.”
Baligod, for his part, has admitted he has been busy with other witnesses and concerns because of the number of lawmakers involved and the vastness of the pork barrel and Malampaya fund scams.
He said he has no ill feelings towards Luy. (MNS)