Bong Revilla to skip Senate pork scam probe

Rappler.com

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'Aside from prudence, I am not a member of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to begin with,' Senator Revilla says

MANILA, Philippines – Sen Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr will not attend the Senate probe into the multi-billion pork barrel scam on Thursday, August 29. 

In a statement, Revilla said: “Hindi po ako mag-a-attend ng hearing bukas (I will not attend the hearing tomorrow.) Aside from prudence, I am not a member of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to begin with. But I fully support the inquiry and all of the other investigations into the matter.”

Revilla earlier said he was willing to subject himself to an impartial investigation as he announced that he has hired a handwriting expert to look into the possibility that the documents on his pork barrel allocations were falsified. 

READ: Bong Revilla raises doubts about COA report

Naniniwala ako na sa isang patas at objective na pagsusuri sa kontrobersiya ay lalabas ang katotohanan (I believe that in a fair and objective scrutiny of the controversy, the truth will come out),” Revilla said Wednesday.“Those truly responsible should be held accountable and punished.” 

A special Commission on Audit (COA) report on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) found him to be the senator with the highest allocations to dubious nongovernment organizations allegedly operated by Janet Lim-Napoles. 

The COA report showed Revilla released a total of P853 million worth of allocations from 2007 to 2009. Of the amount, P422.99 million went to 5 Napoles NGOs. 

Each senator gets P200 million a year in pork barrel while their counterparts in the House of Representatives receive P70 million each.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents show Revilla’s and Napoles’ sons are business partners. But the senator has denied knowing Napoles well. He said Napoles was only an acquaintance whom he saw “occasionally in certain social gatherings.” – Rappler.com

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