Gringo, Jinggoy, under probe over PDAF scam

MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday said it is investigating for graft various government officials, including Senator Gregorio Honasan and former Senator Jinggoy Estrada.

Also under probe are former Representative Arturo Robes, former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes, and several others over the alleged misuse of P220 million in pork barrel funds from 2010 to 2011.

The Ombudsman said the funds in question, which remain unliquidated, were meant for Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) livelihood projects for 27 towns in the provinces of Isabela, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Quezon, Batangas, and Pangasinan.

Under the DAR project, each municipality was supposed to receive funds ranging from P5 to P10 million and 13 non-government organizations (NGOs) were tasked to implement the programs.

The Ombudsman's field investigators, however, discovered that none of the projects were implemented.

''Documents also showed that there was a deliberate or extensive use of falsified documents and forged signatures in order to fully document, substantiate and justify the disbursement and utilization of the P220 million,'' the Ombudsman said in a statement.

Of the P220 million in total funds, P20 million came from the 2010 regular DAR fund released upon Honasan's request; and P100 million from Honasan's 2011 PDAF.

The remaining P100 million was from the regular DAR fund for 2011, P50 million of which was released upon the request of former Senator Estrada and the other P50 million for projects endorsed by DAR Undersecretary Jerry Pacturan.

Included in the preliminary investigation as respondents are former DAR Undersecretaries Narciso Nieto, Jerry Pacturan, and Teresita Panlilio; Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos; DAR employees, Ronald Venancio and Rowena Agbayani; Janet Lim Napoles; NGO representatives, namely: Evelyn De Leon, John Raymond De Asis, Mylene Encarnacion, Simplicio Gumafelix, Eulogio Rodriguez, Evelyn Miranda, Perfecto Jaime Tagalog, Remo Bana, Michelle Imperial, Richard Tubiera, Lyngie Tubiera, Melinda Calagui, Ronald John Lim, Jr.; notaries public Atty. Donato Manguiat, Atty. Editha Talaboc, Atty. Mark Oliveros, Atty. Raymond Gerardo Tansip; Florida Robes, spouse of respondent Robes; Estrada's staff member Pauline Therese Labayen; and a certain Rodrigo Galay.

Delos Reyes, Pacturan, Relampagos, Panlilio, Venancio, and Agbayani are also facing administrative adjudication proceedings for Grave Misconduct, Gross Neglect of Duty, Serious Dishonesty and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.

Estrada, along with former senator Bong Revilla, is currently detained at the Philippine National Police custodial center while his plunder case over another PDAF-related case is being heard.