Tagged as fabricator, Luy breaks down in court

MANILA, Philippines – Attack after attack against his credibility has gotten to pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy, with the latest such criticism in open court bringing him to tears.

Toward the end of the hearing before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Monday, October 13, Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s lawyer, Jose Flaminiano, “expressed to the bench” his “observation” that Luy was a massive fabricator.

“He has admitted to committing several acts of falsification, but no case has been filed against him…. He has shown no remorse…exhibiting no repentance, no regret,” Flaminiano said in a stern voice, less than two feet away from and looking straight at Luy on the witness stand at the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division. 

His manifestation came after a 3-hour-long proceeding, where Luy enumerated the names of individuals whose signatures he forged in various contracts and liquidation papers of ghost government projects funded by Estrada’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Luy said the forgery was upon instructions of his former boss and alleged PDAF scam brains Janet Lim Napoles.

Flaminiano said that of jurisprudence he knows of in his 6 decades of litigation experience, he had not come across fabrication and forgery as massive as what the witness admitted to.

Flaminiano is Estrada’s lead counsel in his plunder and 11 graft cases before the Sandiganbayan over the misuse of P278 million (over $6.20 million)* in his PDAF and the pocketing of P183 million (over $4.08 million) from the misused amount.

Move to strike manifestation

Prosecutor Jacinto dela Cruz Jr cut short Flaminiano’s controversial statement that brought Luy to tears, arguing that he was already “badgering the witness.”

The prosecution also moved to strike Flaminiano’s manifestation. This prompted the defense lawyer to reply in a slightly raised voice, “I’m making my observation!”

Napoles’ lawyer Stephen David also stood up to adopt Flaminiano’s statement. Given Luy’s admission, he further asked, “How are we assured that what he’s saying is not falsified testimony?” (READ: Benhur Luy ran away with the money, says Revilla camp)

After the quibble that dragged on for minutes, Justice Roland Jurado ordered a stop to the exchange.

Luy walked back to his seat in the court gallery, wiping his tears and receiving a gentle tap on the back from deputized prosecutor Hazel Decena Valdez.

Known for his jolly and casual demeanor while on the witness stand, Luy unveiled a different version of himself during the Monday proceeding.

The 5th division hearing was in relation to Estrada’s and Napoles’ pleas for bail.

Luy’s forgery gains justice’s nod

In his testimony, Luy admitted to forging signatures of lawyers for notarial purposes, of at least 8 town mayors for certifications, and countless supposed beneficiaries for liquidation papers.

He claims the forgery was needed to feign the implementation of Estrada’s PDAF-funded ghost projects, from which Napoles and Estrada allegedly financially gained. Earlier, he said he had to use both his left and right hands for the forgeries.

Luy also fabricated papers in relation to Estrada’s ghost projects listing rural town and city-recipients, namely: Sta Maria, Pangasinan; Salug, Zamboanga del Norte; Lopez, Quezon; Tuguegarao, Cagayan; among others.

Noticing differences in the cursive writing in the signatures, Justice Maria Theresa Lourdes Gomez Estoesta ordered Luy to sign in a separate paper 3 starkly different signatures he admitted to forging.

One by one, Luy copied the signatures of Estrada’s aide Pauline Labayen, of a dummy lawyer for the notary stamp, and of former Salug Mayor Jesus Lim.

The forged signatures gained Estoesta’s nod, after she quickly surveyed the papers Luy signed. The signatures were then pre-marked as evidence in the case both by the prosecution and the defense.

Why make the manifestation?

The prosecution cried foul over Flaminiano’s antics, but the defense lawyer maintained he was making an important point.

“I rarely make those manifestations in court,” Flaminiano clarified in an interview.

He added that it was important that the point be said in court to observe Luy’s demeanor when confronted with the issue.

He denied allegations of badgering the witness, as he said he was addressing his opinion to the bench.

He said Luy’s breakdown was a sign of his guilt. Remorse, he said, would have been there had he stopped the forgeries after the first time he committed them.

Justice Undersecretary Jose “JJ” Justiniano, who, like Valdez was deputized by the Ombudsman to prosecute in the PDAF scam cases, said Luy’s admission of forgery all the more supports his credibility as state witness.

“The deeper your involvement is in the conspiracy, the more credible your testimony is because it shows that you know what really happened,” he said.

In an August 14 hearing before another division, Luy had made clear his intentions of turning as a state witness. (READ: Why charge Napoles’ employees ‘merely following orders’?)

“Wala po akong ‘tinatago. Kaya po ako nagsasabi ng totoo. Andito ako, nagte-testify,” an emotional Luy said. (I have nothing to hide. That is why I am telling the truth. I am here testifying.)

Luy revealed the PDAF scam to authorities in 2013 – a revelation that became the country’s biggest scandal in recent history and increased clamor for greater transparency in the use of public funds. – Rappler.com

*$1 = P44.75