MANILA, Philippines – Ruby Tuason identified two staff members of Senator Jinggoy Estrada as the ones who escorted her when she brought bags of cash to his Senate office in 2008.
Testifying before the Senate blue ribbon committee on Thursday, February 13, Tuason recalled that in the two instances when she personally delivered Estrada’s commissions from alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles, she went to the senator’s office in the Senate.
She said she entered the building through the driveway to avoid the metal detectors at the main entrance. From there she was escorted by Estrada’s staff who helped her carry the bags of cash for the senator. (READ: Tuason brought bags of cash to Jinggoy)
Tuason said she did not know their names but said she could identify them if she saw them. Tuason was then given photos of staff members of the Senate. From there, she identified two who she said picked her up and brought her to Estrada’s office.
They were identified by the Senate as staff members of Estrada, Alfredo de los Reyes and a certain “Tani.”
Tuason told the Senate that she gave kickbacks to Estrada in 2004 and 2008 in different venues.
Reaching out to Jinggoy
Tuason detailed her 15-page affidavit before the committee, saying she gave Estrada bags of cash with P1 million to P2 million being the “smaller amounts” of the cash deliveries. The money represented his commissions from Napoles.
Tuason admitted that when the scam first broke out, she reached out to Estrada for help. She denied Estrada’s statements that she asked him for money, but admitted she asked for “support.”
“I wanted to see how far he would go. After all I only got a small commission, he got the bulk,” she said. – Rappler.com
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