MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is unlikely to reinvestigate the case involving the use of fake fund release orders despite a plea from Albay Rep Teodorico Haresco Jr – one of those implicated in the scam.
“We are not inclined to do that. This will be filed before the DOJ (Department of Justice) or the Ombudsman for preliminary investigation,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters Wednesday, February 12.
“This time, if he wants his side to be heard, that’s the proper forum,” she added.
De Lima denied Haresco’s claims that investigators did not invite him for questioning.
“It’s not true he was not invited or he did not know. That’s not true. The NBI exerted efforts short of issuing a subpoena to access him. They were unsuccessful. They were able to access the chief of staff. They wanted to access the congressman but he did not face them,” she said.
Haresco had cried foul over the NBI’s recommendation to charge him and 4 others for falsifying special allotment release orders (SAROs) for agricultural funds.
The lawmaker earlier said he was “flabbergasted” that he was the only one charged among the other representatives earlier implicated in the scam.
Belmonte defends Haresco
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr on Wednesday, February 12, defended the Albay congressman.
“I didn’t see any directing by him that’s why I would like, in fact, to get a copy of the charge sheet of the NBI and I’m also very concerned by the fact that they did not invite him to get his statement and explain himself,” Belmonte said.
Belmonte, who conducted his own probe when the issue erupted, said it was unlikely that the source of the fake SAROs came from the House of Representatives.
“The likelihood is zero. It did not come from here. It came from DBM. So far, they are only targeting low-level people in the DBM. In fact, the only guy you are sure of is the driver and so forth. Anyway, it’s an ongoing investigation,” Belmonte said.
Aside from Haresco and Castillo, the NBI also recommend the filing of charges against:
- Emmanuel Raza, a congressional staff of Zamboanga City Congresswoman Lilia Macruhon-Nuño
- Elvie Rafael, driver of DBM Undersecretary Mario Relampagos
- Bhernie Beltan, allegedly from the DBM
A Philippine Daily Inquirer report on November 25 revealed an NBI investigation into a case of fake SAROs released to mayors for P879 million worth of farm-to-market roads in Region II (Cagayan Valley).
The investigation later revealed that fake SAROs were also released in other regions, and the case was a possible inside job at the Department of Budget and Management. – Angela Casauay/Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.