SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – More lawmakers will be charged in connection with the misuse of their development funds.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is ready to file its 3rd batch of complaints against more legislators who channeled public funds to fake projects.
The cases will be filed on Friday, June 13, or anytime within the month of June.
“We’re just looking for an appropriate date… It can be on Friday or early next week. I’ll discuss it again maybe this afternoon with the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) kung puwedeng-puwede na ba talaga but as I see it, puwede na (if we can already file, but as I see it, we already can),” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said in a chance interview Wednesday, June 11.
In April, De Lima fell short of discussing the timeline set for the filing of the third batch of complaints. (READ: More lawmakers to be charged over pork scam)
The 3rd batch of complaints will involve more personalities than previous batches, De Lima said.
The first batch of complaints involved at least 38 individuals, while the second batch involved 34 individuals.
De Lima refused to provide names included in the 3rd batch of complaints. “We cannot be prematurely disclosing those names,” she said, citing her department’s policy of confidentiality. Individuals involved in the scam are known only at the time complaints are filed.
The impending cases will also be the last batch of complaints in relation to businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, using as basis the Commission on Audit (COA) special report on the misuse of lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from years 2007-2009. (READ: COA special report on PDAF, 2007-2009)
The PDAF is a lump sum used at the discretion of lawmakers to fund their community development pet projects. Millions in PDAF were siphoned off to bogus projects of dubious non-governmental organizations (NGOs) linked to Napoles.
The justice secretary said more charges may be filed against Napoles and others involved in the ploy to divert development funds to dummy NGOs.
Napoles may soon be charged for transactions outside the years 2007 to 2009, while the still-unnamed lawmakers will be charged using the COA report as basis.
De Lima’s pronouncement comes on the heels of the Ombudsman’s filing of plunder and graft charges against Napoles and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla Jr, and Jinggoy Estrada. – Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.