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Tambayan ng mga Chicx at Tsonx => General Discussion => Current Events => Topic started by: Zurca on June 09, 2014, 06:50:55 PM
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MANILA, Philippines – More charges have been filed against the 3 senators already charged with plunder over the alleged illegal diversion of their development funds to fake non-governmental organizations.
On Monday afternoon, June 9, the Ombudsman filed graft charges with the Sandiganbayan against senators Ramon Revilla Jr, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Jinggoy Estrada, along with at least 7 other key personalities.
They are accused of violating Section 3(e) of the Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. They allegedly endorsed to implementing agencies the NGOs controlled by Janet Lim Napoles so these could siphon off their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). The senators supposedly got huge kickbacks in return.
The PDAF – a congressional pork barrel that was released in lump sum – was a massive development fund that lawmakers could use at their discretion to fund pet projects.
This has been subject to abuse and corruption over decades, with the Napoles scandal that erupted last year as its worst manifestation. Following the scandal, the Supreme Court declared the fund unconstitutional.
It took the Ombudsman nearly 9 months to finish its probe and finalize these charges against the principal accused in the scam. The National Bureau of Investigation submitted its evidence to the Ombudsman in September 2013.
With conduits
Revilla faces 16 counts of graft involving a total of P517 million along with his chief political staff Richard Cambe, Napoles, and Napoles' driver-bodyguard John Raymond de Asis.
Enrile faces 15 counts of graft involving a total of P345 million along with his chief of staff Jessica Lucila "Gigi" Reyes, Napoles, John Ronald Lim, and De Asis.
Estrada faces 11 counts of graft involving a total of P278 million along with his staff Pauline Labayen, Napoles, and De Asis.
Graft is punishable by imprisonment of 6-15 years, permanent disqualification from public office, and government seizure of assets for whatever amount they gained.
Plunder, on the other hand, is a non-bailable offense.
Conspiracy against the government
To determine how many times each of the accused committed graft, the Ombudsman counted the Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) issued by the budge department in the names of the 3 senators to the dubious NGOs.
The senators and their co-accused "conspired in causing undue injury to the government," the Ombudsman said, noting that they were "manifestly partial in the selection of the Napoles NGOs."
The Ombudsman said "unwarranted benefit, preference or advantage" were given by the offices of the 3 senators "to the Napoles NGOs which were chosen without the benefit of public bidding and which supposed turned out to be 'ghost projects.'"
Confessed moneybag Ruby Tuason, whom the Ombudsman granted immunity from criminal prosecution over the PDAF scam, had tagged Estrada and Enrile, through Reyes, as direct recipients of kickbacks.
Revilla, Enrile, and Estrada, as well as Napoles, De Asis, and Lim are all facing plunder charges for P597 million in stolen government funds. The charges were filed Friday, June 6, shortly before the docket closed at the Sandiganbayan.
From Rappler.com (http://www.rappler.com/nation/60064-graft-charges-revilla-enrile-estrada-pork-barrel-scam)