Cunanan testimony shows cracks in PDAF case – Revilla

MANILA, Philippines – The camp of Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr, one of the senators accused of pocketing kickbacks from lawmaker’s funds, took no time to slam the credibility of Technology Resource Center director general (on leave) Dennis Cunanan.

For Revilla, Cunanan’s testimony at the Senate on Thursday, March 6, did not bolster the case against them but instead exposed the cracks in the pork barrel scam case.  

“[However] hard they may try to weave their story, it is clearly falling apart. The sworn testimonies of their witnesses are contradicting each other on very material points,” said Revilla’s lawyer Joel Bodegon in a statement.

Calling Cunanan a “liar,” the Revilla camp hit the inconsistencies in Cunanan’s testimony, which were also highlighted by Senator Grace Poe in her questioning of the former TRC head during the 10th Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the pork barrel scam. 

Cunanan has insisted that he did not receive any kickbacks from the multi-billion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) that were diverted to lawmakers’ favored bogus NGOs through his agency. His claim directly contradicts the testimony of pork barrel scam principal witness Benhur Luy. 

Luy, meanwhile, stood by his sworn statement: when Cunanan arrived at his boss’ office in Ortigas Center, Janet Napoles ordered Luy to prepare P960,000, placed in a paper bag. Although Luy handed to bagful of cash to Napoles and his co-worker Evelyn de Leon, he saw Cunanan carrying the paper bag when he stepped out of the meeting with Napoles and De Leon. 

Cunanan says neither of them are lying. Watch his statement below.

For the Revilla camp, Cunanan’s denial was unconvincing. 

Bodegon said: Malamya ang ginawang pagtanggi ni Cunanan sa madiin na sinabi ni Luy.  Ang ibig sabihin lang ay di kayang pabulaanan ni Cunanan ang sinabi ni Luy sa kanyang sinumpaang salaysay, lalo na dahil hindi binago ni Luy ang kanyang salaysay. Magkaganun pa man, maaring nagsisinugaling si Luy o nagsisinungaling si Cunanan, o pareho silang nagsisinungaling.” 

(The denial that Cunanan made over Luy’s strong allegations is weak. It means Cunanan can’t disprove what Luy said in his sworn statement, especially since Luy stood by his statement. Nevertheless, it’s possible that either Luy or Cunanan, or both of them, are lying.)

In his affidavit, Cunanan said senators Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada confirmed the authenticity of their signatures in a phone call. Meanwhile, he said the signature of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile was verified by his then chief of staff Gigi Reyes, also over the phone. 

Revilla and Estrada have claimed that their signatures on dubious PDAF documents were forged. 

‘Idol ko si Kap’

During the hearing, Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Teofisto Guingona III read questions submitted by Revilla. 

Revilla asked: Is it possible that the person from Revilla’s office who confirmed his signature was, in fact, not Revilla?

Cunanan said he was sure it was the senator who spoke with him. 

“Ako po nanonood din ng TV. Idol ko po si Kap. Napanood ko rin ang Panday sa MMFF (Metro Manila Film Festival) so familiar po ang boses,” Cunanan said in reference to popular characters that Revilla, who is also an actor, has played on television and the movies. (I also watch TV. Kap is my idol. I also watched Panday during the MMFF so I’m familiar with his voice.)

Watch his statement below.

Bodegon said Cunanan’s past “reveals his character.” 

“He has lied and misrepresented his education attainment, his qualifications, and his properties. He has been so used to lying to get to where he is today. It is no longer a puzzle that he would continue to lie just to get out of his predicament,” Bodegon said. 

Newsbreak earlier reported that Cunanan was forced to resign from the Commission on Higher Education after it was discovered that he had not disclosed that he didn’t finish college. He was transferred by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the Technology Resource and Livelihood Center, now TRC. 

Typo in documents prove conspiracy?

Revilla washed his hands clean of the alleged conspiracy with his fellow senators implicated in the pork barrel scam. 

“The documents he tries to sell to the public are the same documents that have been forged and falsified. Cunanan’s own admissions that the documents look similar, are the same, and appear to have been prepared by one and the same person, only prove what we have been saying all along that there is a criminal syndicate, to which Benhur Luy and the heads and officials of the implementing agencies, including Dennis Cunanan, belong,” Bodegon said. 

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said the testimony of potential state witness Dennis Cunanan showed a conspiracy among the 3 senators to get kickbacks from PDAF-funded projects.

Cunanan said documents from the senators had similar content and even contained the same typographical errors. – Rappler.com