My barber asked for my take on the so-called “Napoles’ pork scam
list.”
I told him that we start by “listing” the different lists that
are out there:
1. The list that Sandra Cam claims to possess;
2. The list that former Senator Lacson received
from Janet Napoles’ husband;
3. The list that PNoy received from a source
known only to him;
4. The list given to DOJ Secretary de Lima by
Janet Napoles; and
5. The list that can be gleaned from the records
of head whistleblower Benhur Luy.
On Sandra Cam’s list:
I give this list the least or no evidentiary value. We do not know
whether Cam’s source is credible or not. We do not know why the source decided
to give it to Cam.
On Ping Lacson’s list:
I consider this list to be of higher value than that
of Cam’s. First, it came from the husband of Janet Napoles. Second, it
was given to a co-military officer. Third, Senator Lacson is part of the PNoy
administration and known as one of only two Senators who rejected the use of
pork barrel allocations. But the list is attached only to a draft affidavit,
which means that the list is also considered just a draft. It also has no evidentiary value.
On the list given to PNoy:
Depending on the source, this list is only given importance
because it even reached PNoy and that the latter used it for comparison to the
other lists. Its value is limited to that.
On the list possessed by DOJ Secretary de Lima:
This list is attached to an affidavit or a sworn statement
signed by Janet Napoles herself. The NBI and the Department of Justice
are still evaluating and validating the list. Depending on the evidence
supporting the inclusion of anybody in the list as provided by Napoles, this
one is definitely more valuable than the first three lists mentioned above.
On the list from Benhur Luy and other whistleblowers:
This list is the most valuable. It is accompanied by the
supporting evidence coming from Luy and the other whistleblowers who
correspondingly signed sworn statements; proofs gathered by the combined
investigations of the NBI and the DOJ, and cross-checked with the COA audit
reports.
In fact, it is these findings with the assistance of the
whistleblowers that led to the charges first, by the NBI and DOJ and now the
Office of the Ombudsman taking the lead in prosecuting before the
Sandiganbayan.
Benhur Luy took charge of storing all records containing the
list and the corresponding transactions involving those in the list. He
administered these records kept in a hard drive.
This is the source of Janet Napoles’ list and the basis of her sworn statement. Since Benhur made backup files of the hard drive contents,
administered the storing and retrieval systems, and actually participated in
the implementation of the pork scam, he also used the same files to support his
sworn statements. So did the other whistleblowers.
The Inquirer, which also obtained a copy of the backup files
from Benhur Luy’s relatives, “discovered that close to 200 people, including
lawmakers, department heads, a former Supreme Court justice, popular media
personalities, heads of government-owned and -controlled corporations,
government employees of various agencies,
local government officials, lawyers, military officials, show-biz
personalities, employees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and
private individuals received money from Napoles based on the records of
Benhur.”
According to the Inquirer, based on Benhur’s records, “there
were legislators who repeatedly funneled huge funds to Napoles organizations
and personally received kickbacks from her. And there were legislators who
allocated a minimal amount of their pork barrel funds through agents and
representatives.”
The paper further reported, “Kickbacks were handed out using
various methods—through bank fund transfers, checks, cash delivered to their
houses or picked up at the JLN office in Discovery Center in Ortigas, Pasig City. Other places
indicated as venues for deliveries of kickbacks were hotels, restaurants and
coffee shops.”
Some legislators reportedly received kickbacks in foreign
currency, the files showed.
The Inquirer also found in the computer files “records of
financial transactions, bank documents, bank transfers, cash and check
disbursements, letters of endorsements, memorandums of agreement, acceptance
letters, list of properties, money transfers, auditor’s reports, private letters,
insurance policies, prayers, photographs, project proposals, check
disbursements, bank placements, bank deposits, drafts of various
communications, special allocation release order numbers, guests lists and
payrolls of JLN employees, including Benhur’s.”
It is possible that Napoles personally and separately transacted
with some public officials and therefore, not recorded by Benhur or the
computer. This could explain why Napoles may have added more to the list
that Benhur compiled. Napoles is the only person who can explain that.
After all, she would be under oath when she testifies.
As far as I know, only the list derived from Benhur and his
records as well as that of Napoles as verified, and validated by DOJ have evidentiary
value. Both are attached to the sworn affidavits of witnesses. The
Ombudsman will mostly check which ones corroborate the existing evidence
already in her possession.
I told my barber that my own list is as valuable if not more
than that of the lists obtained by Sandra Cam, former Senator Ping Lacson, and
PNoy. At least in my case, I derived it from reliable sources such as COA, and
public records that could support my conclusion to any inclusion.
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