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| Illustration: BusinessMirror |
Why Congress won’t act on call for pork scam probe
By Gil C. Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Monday, August 19th, 2013
Why is Congress playing deaf to the growing clamor to
abolish the annual P24-billion pork barrel?
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said Sunday that with the
release of the Commission on Audit (COA) report, the main reason why Congress
does not want to investigate the scam has been revealed.
“It is now clear that the reason why there is resistance to
an investigation in Congress is because those who are involved are in power,”
Colmenares said.
He said, however, that the lawmakers’ involvement should
spur Congress to investigate the scam or “risk being accused of making a
cover-up.”
The lawmakers involved are either senators or congressmen
who received more than their annual Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)
allocations (P200 million for senators and P70 million for representatives) or
dealt with dubious nongovernment organizations (NGOs) from 2007 to 2009,
according to the 412-page COA investigative report.
The COA team that did the special audit of the PDAF was
composed of Catherine B. Petri, Kristina Cleo R. Bigornia, Jennifer A. Sanorjo,
Cristina P. Mercado, Ma. Cristina Irene P. Franco, Joselita G. Corteza, George
S. Tamayo, Jr., Dondon P. Marcos, Joselito N. Sucion, Rosemarie R. Magtaan,
Onofre R. Mores, Lydia R. Dizon, Teresita T. Santiago and Grace T. de Castro.
The team leaders were Joan Agnes N. Alfafaras, Angelita A.
Aquino, Cheryll Apalisoc, Leona A. Andriano, and Gloria D. Silverio. The
overall leader of the team was Elsielin C. Masangcay.
9 senators
There are nine incumbent senators in the COA report:
Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto,
Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.,
Gregorio Honasan II, Lito Lapid, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Loren Legarda.
Six senators are related by blood to the senators involved
in the pork barrel: Juan Edgardo Angara (son of former Sen. Edgardo Angara),
Pia Cayetano (sister of Alan), Joseph Victor Ejercito (brother of Jinggoy),
Koko Pimentel Jr. (son of former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.), Cynthia Villar
(wife of former Sen. Manny Villar, although she is listed in the COA report as
the Las Piñas representative).
Cayetano, who used to be at the forefront of congressional
probes anchored on testimony far less reliable than pork barrel scam
whistle-blowers Benhur Luy and Merlina Suñas, has been quick to reject public
demand that the Senate investigate the scam, saying it amounts to senators
investigating senators.
His wife, Taguig City Mayor Laarni Cayetano, has also been cited
in the COA report for exceeding her pork barrel allocation by P8.5 million when
she was a representative under the administration of former President and now
Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Senator Cayetano is also counting on his brother, Taguig
City Rep. Lino Cayetano, to hold the same view.
Another political dynasty is in the same boat as the
Cayetanos. Makati Rep. Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay also exceeded her pork barrel
quota by P47 million from 2007 to 2009, but she could count on her father (Vice
President Jejomar Binay), her sister (Sen. Nancy Binay) and brother (Makati
Mayor Jun-Jun Binay) for support.
Aquino officials
Some of the implicated lawmakers in the pork barrel scam
have taken key positions in the Aquino administration: Interior Secretary Mar
Roxas (he gave P5 million to a suspect NGO, Kaloocan Assistance Council Inc.),
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon and
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Chair Joel Villanueva.
More than 40 congressmen implicated in the pork barrel scam
are still going strong in the House of Representatives, and they are led by
Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, who has been found to have exceeded his
pork barrel allocations by P205 million during the Arroyo administration and
has spent P256.381 million of his pork barrel for projects using spurious
documents, including 167 transactions worth P28.744 million that have been
denied by suppliers.
Gonzales was senior deputy majority leader from 2007 and
2009 when all impeachment cases against Arroyo were nipped in the bud. He has
been in office since 1995 (except when he became mayor from 2004 to 2007) and
is currently serving his second three-year term.
Scandal-tainted leaders
The scam-tainted lawmakers who managed to get leadership
positions in this Congress are Ronaldo Zamora of San Juan City (minority
leader), Carlos Padilla of Nueva Vizcaya (Deputy Speaker), Giorgidi Aggabao of
Isabela (Deputy Speaker) and Roberto V. Puno of Antipolo City (Deputy Speaker).
Others got juicy committee chairmanships: Isidro Ungab of
Davao City (committee on appropriations), Neil Tupas Jr. of Iloilo (justice)
Amado Bagatsing of Manila (ecology), Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina (legislative
franchises), Arturo B. Robes of San Jose Del Monte City (social services),
Herminia B. Roman of Bataan (veterans
affairs and welfare), Arnulfo Go of Sultan Kudarat (Mindanao affairs), Victor
Yu of Zamboanga del Sur (science and technology), Vicente Belmonte of Iligan
(dangerous drugs), Al Francis Bichara of Albay (foreign affairs) and Manuel
Agyao of Kalinga (rural development).
At least two incumbents have a direct and bigger
participation in the pork barrel scam: Rolando Andaya of Camarines Sur (former
budget secretary) and Arthur Yap (former agriculture secretary).
Other porkers
The rest of the incumbent lawmakers cited in the report are
Diosdado M. Arroyo of Camarines Sur (whose uncle, the late Ignacio Arroyo, is
also implicated), Philip Pichay of Surigao del Sur (whose brother, former Rep.
Prospero Pichay Jr., was also listed in COA report), Julio Ledesma IV of Negros
Occidental, Isagani S. Amatong of Zamboanga del Norte, Rommel C. Amatong of
Compostela Valley, Benjamin Asilo of Manila;
Ma. Theresa Bonoan of Manila, Nelson Dayanghirang of Davao
Oriental, Emil Ong of Northern Samar, Ma. Victoria Sy-Alvarado of Bulacan,
Czarina Umali of Nueva Ecija, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Maria
Zenaida Angping of Manila, Joseph Gilbert Violago of Nueva Ecija, Nelson
Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental, Belma Cabilao of Zamboanga Sibugay;
Wilfrido Mark Enverga of Quezon, Rolando Uy of Cagayan de
Oro, Dulce Ann Hofer of Zamboanga Sibugay, Antonio Lagdameo of Davao del Norte,
Franklin Bautista of Davao del Sur, Victor Francisco Ortega of La Union, Carol
Jayne Lopez of Yacap party-list, Mariano Piamonte of A-Teacher party-list group
and Francisco Manuel Ortega of Abono party-list group.
Related by blood, party ties
Some of the incumbent lawmakers are related by blood or
party ties to the lawmakers implicated in the COA report: Reynaldo Umali of
Oriental Mindoro (brother of now Oriental Mindoro Gov. Alfonso Umali), Karlo
Alexei Nograles of Davao City (son of former Speaker Prospero Nograles),
Winston Castelo of Quezon City (brother of Nanette Castelo-Daza), Rene
Relampagos (cousin of Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos);
Eleonor Bulut-Begtang of Apayao (sister of former Rep. Elias
Bulut), Carlo V. Lopez of Manila (son of former Rep. Jaime Lopez), Mercedes
Cagas of Davao del Sur (mother of former Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas), Harlin Abayo
of Northern Samar (husband of former Rep. Daryl Grace Abayo); Gerald Anthony
Gullas of Cebu (son of former Rep. Eduardo Gullas), Enrique Garcia Jr. of
Bataan (father of former Rep. Albert Raymund Garcia);
Mark Villar of Las Piñas (son of Senator Villar), Magnolia
Antonino-Nadres of Nueva Ecija (daughter of former Rep. Rodolfo Antonino), Rose
Marie “Baby” Arenas of Pangasinan (mother of former Rep. Rachel Arenas),
Rodolfo Biazon of Muntinlupa City (father of former Rep. Rufino Biazon who is
now customs chief), Dakila Carlo Cua of Quirino (son of former Rep. Junie Cua),
Georgina de Venecia of Pangasinan (wife of former Speaker Jose de Venecia);
Grex Lagman of Albay (son of former Rep. Edcel Lagman), Lani
Revilla of Cavite (wife of Senator Revilla), Susan Yap of Tarlac (daughter of
former Rep. Jose Yap), Regina Ongsiako Reyes of Marinduque (daughter of former
Rep. Carmencita Reyes), Scott Davies Lanete of Masbate (son of former Rep.
Rizalina Seachon-Lanete), Felix William Fuentebella of Camarines Sur (son of
former Rep. Arnulfo Fuentebella).
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/468545/why-congress-wont-act-on-call-for-pork-scam-probe#ixzz2cS1yThv8
