Feb 212014
 
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, poses questions to Janet Lim-Napoles, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind during the hearing on Thursday (Nov. 7, 2013) at the Senate building in Pasay City. (MNS photo)

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, poses questions to Janet Lim-Napoles, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind during the hearing on Thursday (Nov. 7, 2013) at the Senate building in Pasay City. (MNS photo)

MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV suspects that alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles is hoping to turn the tide come 2016, when her supposed bet for president wins.

Trillanes said he believes Napoles will not spill the beans anytime soon and may be waiting for the outcome of the 2016 presidential polls before making her next move.

Trillanes said Napoles is careful in mentioning individuals whom she supposedly had transactions with, as there is a possibility that these people or their allies might retain power in 2016.

Hindi magsasalita iyan dahil tataya iyan sa magiging susunod na presidente ng Pilipinas para mamasahe ang kanilang mga kaso, o mabigyan muna ng pyansa tapos para kinalaunan makakalimutan ng kababayan natin, mawawala na lang yan,” Trillanes said.

Sa tingin ko kasi ang nakikita nila is malapit na itong eleksyon eh. Kung magtitiis siya, maaari kung mananalo ang kanyang manok, eh mamamasahe ang kaso niya. Kung magsasalita siya ngayon, marami siyang makakaaway na baka ito ang mga naka-pwesto sa susunod. So kailangan masigurado niya muna. Ngayon, kung matatalo ang manok niya sa 2016 malamang magsasalita na iyan.”

Pressed to name the person he believes is Napoles’ presidential bet, Trillanes said: “Alam na siguro natin iyan kung sino.”

Napoles, Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and 34 other individuals are facing plunder charges over the alleged misuse of an estimated P10 billion worth of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel.”

The businesswoman is accused of setting up fake non-government organizations where legislators allegedly funneled their respective PDAFs to get kickbacks.

So far, only Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance has declared intention to run for president. Binay is a known ally of Estrada and Enrile, two of the lawmakers at the center of the scam.

No special treatment

Trillanes also said he is against putting Napoles under hospital arrest, amid reports that the businesswoman has an ovarian tumor.

The senator said he is not against giving Napoles the chance to seek medical attention, but he argued that putting the businesswoman to under hospital arrest would not be acceptable.

Of course sasabihin natin bahala na ang korte, pero kailangan tingnan muna natin: ‘Is that an emergency case?’ Kung talagang kailangan operahan, hindi pwedeng nandoon ka na lang palagi after maka-recover ka, na doon ka made-detain. Kailangan mga isang linggo, dalawang lniggo, balik ka na ulit dapat,” he said.

Trillanes believes that the public would be outraged if the court grants Napoles’ petition to be placed under hospital arrest.

The senator said public opinion is very much against Napoles, especially that the latter continues to remain mum about the scam.

Hindi magandang ipapakita na may special treatment. Ito na nga, husga na ng mga kababayan natin eh kontrabida itong si Mrs. Napoles, tapos lantaran pang bibigyan ng special treatment. Maraming magagalit niyan na kababayan natin,” he said.

Kung magsasabi siya ng totoo, at kumbaga magre-repent siya, babawi siya, isosoli niya ang mga nakuha niya through illegal means, eh baka maawa ang mga kababayan natin niyan. Pero sa ganitong sitwasyon na nagmamatigas siya na parang wala siyang ginawang mali, wala talaga siyang makukuhang simpatya.” (MNS)

Dec 092013
 
Enrile: You can’t force me to resign

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, poses questions to Janet Lim-Napoles, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind during the hearing on Thursday (Nov. 7, 2013) at the Senate building in Pasay City. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile will not be resigning anytime soon after allegedly funneling his pork barrel funds to fake non-government organizations linked to Janet Lim Napoles. Enrile said he will not follow the example of Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon who resigned after being included in the second batch of cases filed in connection with the P10 billion pork barrel scam. The minority leader said Biazon resigned out of delicadeza and his decision should be respected. Enrile said lawmakers like himself who have been linked to the scam cannot be likened to Biazon. He said he cannot be forced to resign because he was voted into office, unlike presidential appointees whose alleged wrongdoings would embarrass the President. Enrile said he is ready to face the complaint filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman and that he is innocent of any crime unless proven guilty. He, however, conceded that he cannot win in the court of public opinion. Enrile is one of 39 individuals who were included in the first batch of cases filed by the Department of Justice in connection with the pork scam involving Janet Lim Napoles. The scam allegedly involved the funneling of lawmakers’ priority development assistance funds to fake NGOs set up by Napoles. A Commission on Audit report earlier Read More …

Nov 292013
 
Ombudsman: No eight-page memo tagging Enrile as ‘pork’ scam mastermind

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, poses questions to Janet Lim-Napoles, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind during the hearing on Thursday (Nov. 7, 2013) at the Senate building in Pasay City. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Thursday denied the existence of an eight-page memo tagging Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile as the mastermind of the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam. “I’m surprised about that eight-page memo. There’s no such thing as an eight-page memo… I have several memos. I don’t recall about an eight-page memo. Pero ang memo na natatanggap ko, more than 200 pages,” Morales told reporters at the sidelines of Senate deliberations on her office’s budget for next year. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on Thursday that an investigative team from the Office of the Ombudsman submitted an eight-page report to Morales last week pointing to Enrile as the alleged mastermind in the pork barrel scam. According to the Inquirer report, the memorandum prepared by Assistant Ombudsman Joselito Fangon stated that “all facts point to Senator Enrile as the unseen hand directing the compass and the tempo of the whole orchestra.” Enrile and two of his collegues – Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla – have been named respondents in a plunder complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly receiving kickbacks from the scam that was allegedly engineered by controversial businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. Morales said her office has not yet recommended any charges against the lawmakers before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft Read More …