MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / May 27, 20014) – President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday said the government has filed charges against lawmakers tagged in the scandalous Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.
Aquino said he expects the Office of the Ombudsman to resolve the P10-billion pork barrel scandal soon to serve justice to the people.
He said his administration has already filed charges against the first batch of people involved in the scam and he expects the Ombudsman to act on it at the soonest possible time.
“Matagal-tagal na nating sinampa iyong unang set. Nasa Ombudsman na. Palagay ko mare-resolve na yan soon. How soon? I don’t know,” Aquino said.
“The Ombudsman is an independent constitutional body. Basta ang commitment ko, na-develop na iyong ebidensiya. Iyong tinatawag nilang case build-up is solid, isampa na, regardless of kung sino ang tamaan,” he added.
But Aquino was quick to defend two of his Cabinet members being linked to the scam – Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala – saying the allegations is intended to malign them.
He said he needs to see the evidence against them, noting that he knows the two secretaries very well and he does not believe the allegations against the two officials.
Aquino said Abad has worked to ensure greater transparency in the bureaucracy while Alcala has been doing his job also well.
Janet Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the scam who implicated Abad and Alcala insisted they were involved, but Aquino said she might be delaying the case beyond the present administration to avoid a conviction.
“Wala tayong pakialam sa lahat ng iyon. Ang habol natin, ang pangako natin sa taumbayan, kung may ebidensya, sampahan ng kaso,” he said.
“Basta ako, ang kaya ko lang naman panagutan iyong kaya kong gawin. Kaya pinipilit ko lahat na dapat magawa natin kahapon iyong gusto nating gawin ngayon,” he said.
But the youth group Anakbayan accused Aquino of covering up for Abad and Alcala.
“When non-Aquino ally are being accused Aquino does not promote due process, and when the likes of Abad and Alcala gets included the word due process suddenly becomes a mainstay on Aquino’s vocabulary,” said Vencer Crisostomo, Anakbayan National Chairperson.
Other than Abad and Alcala, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director-General Joel Villanueva and 3 female palace employees are also included in the so-called Napoloes’ lists of those who are allegedly involved in the scam.
“Aquino will do anything to protect his allies, as long as his allies’ looks clean it is easier for him to deny that he is pork barrel king,” Crisostomo said.
He said Anakbayan together with other progressive organizations would launch more protest against those who are involved in the scam, and the government that hinders the process of attainment genuine accountability.
“The end is near for Aquino and soon as more of his allies appear in the long list of those who are involved in the scam it will be harder for him to deny his involvement and knowledge about this systemic corruption. Soon it will be very clear to the public that Aquino is pork barrel king,” Crisostomo said.
“When that time comes Aquino will have 2 choices, first is to resign on his own will, and second is to be booted out of the palace by the mass movement.” he added.
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