Philippines: Special court to be formed to try the accused in development fund diversion scam

Manila: A special tribunal will be formed to put on trial three senators and several individuals accused of involvement in diverting P10 billion (Dhs 836 million) to “ghost” NGOs.

According to Ombudsman Concita Carpio-Morales, she has already requested the Supreme Court to put up “at least two Special Divisions” of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan, to conduct “continuous trial” of personalities involved in the diversion of the so-called “pork barrel” funds.

In her letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Morales cited as compelling reasons the “national magnitude of these cases, the complexities of the matters involved, the number of accused and the far-reaching consequences of these issues.”

Earlier on Friday, the Ombudsman filed with the Sandiganbayan ‘three Informations for Plunder” against Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr, Sen Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada as well as several other individuals including Janet Lim-Napoles.

Napoles is believed to be the key operator in the pork barrel fund diversion.

A case for plunder is punishable by life imprisonment.

The filing of plunder charges came a year after the three Senators, Napoles as well as other individuals, were accused of channelling an estimated P10 billion in funds meant for financing development endeavours, into non-existent projects. It had been assummed that the money had been pocketed by the three senators with the help of Napoles, an individual who styles herself as a businesswoman.

Several months after the controversy became public last year, Napoles was arrested and detained at a police training facility South of the capital in Silang, Cavite. She was charged with serious illegal detention for kidnapping Benjur Luy, her former executive assistant,.

Luy, during investigations conducted by the Senate, exposed the workings of Napoles’ NGOs, which are basically conduits for embezzling taxpayers’ money.

In a statement issued Saturday, the presidential palace said it support efforts to bring Senators Enrile, Revilla and Estrada to justice and ferret out the truth concerning the pork barrel scam..

“This constitutes a major step forward in our mission to find out the truth about these anomalies,” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview over state radio dzRB.

“In the midst of misinformation brought about by dishonesty and politicking, the administration remains firmly committed to unearthing the facts,” she added.

At the same time, she said the government is prepared for any backlash from the followers of the three lawmakers.

For Estrada, it will be the second time that he could be in prison for committing plunder.