Senator Jinggoy Estrada — charged with graft at the Sandiganbayan on Friday over his alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam — has said the cases against him and two other senators were rushed so the president can include it in his SONA.
“Siyempre ibabandera kaming tatlo. Na naipakulong ang isang presidente, tatlong senador. Ito ay bilang patunay ng kanilang anti-corruption drive,” Estrada said in an earlier report.
But Palace spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr. said the charges came from the Office of the Ombudsman and that the investigation into the scam had been going on since last year.
“‘Yon pong mga usapin ay inihain sa Tanggapan ng Ombudsman bandang Agosto-Setyembre pa. Wala po sa kontrol natin kung kailan po matatapos ‘yon,” he said.
Coloma noted that it took the Office of the Ombudsman until April to come out with a resolution on the first batch of graft complaints that the Department of Justice filed last year.
He added the president’s upcoming SONA was not the basis for the filing of charges against Estrada, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, and others.
“Tila paglilihis na naman ‘yan sa tunay na usapin dito kung ‘yan pa ang ating papansinin,” Coloma said.
Coloma said, though, that the SONA will include progress in government reform.
“Tiyak kong tatalakayin ‘yan dahil magbibigay ng ulat ang Pangulo sa performance ng administrasyon sa mga haliging programa o prayoridad ng Philippine Development Plan, kasama na po ‘yung good governance and anti-corruption campaign,” he said. — JDS, GMA News
