Presidential Adviser on Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Panfilo M. Lacson answers questions from the media in an interview after he delivered his address at a forum in Makati City last January 23. The former senator had refused to accept his pork barrel funds from the start. He said in a privilege speech that the funds had corrupted legislators. Now, even the members of the media are being named as those who received “payolas.” (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson might have made big revelations regarding the number of senators being implicated in the P10-billion pork barrel scam, but he is not about to make them an interference on his job as head of typhoon “Yolanda” rehabilitation efforts.
“When it comes to Sec. Lacson, he said that he actually eats Yolanda for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner,” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
“At this point, we really don’t see it as interference on what Secretary Lacson is doing as rehab czar,” Valte added, expressing contentment with Lacson’s performance.
Valte raised the issue following criticisms hurled at Lacson, saying that he should concentrate on carrying out tasks in his job rather than meddling with other issues.
It can be recalled that Lacson made the revelation that more than a hundred government officials from the present and previous administrations have been implicated in the pork barrel scam in various interviews.
Lacson, however, refused to drop names and said that the best person to be asked to namedrop would be alleged pork barrel mastermind Janet Napoles herself.
Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, who now holds Napoles’ “tell-all” affidavit, however, has so far refused to release the names of those who have been tagged by Napoles as being involved in the scam. (MNS)