It's time for action

Cayetano: Charge those involved in pork barrel scam

By Office of the Senate Majority Leader
January 30, 2014

PASAY CITY – "Kapag may kasalanan, ikulong. Walang sasantuhin dito, administrasyon man o oposisyon, lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno."

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano urged the government to file charges against all those implicated in the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam during the Thursday's resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the alleged misuse of the now scrapped Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

"Ang tingin ng tao, simple lang, may mangyayari ba diyan o wala? Kapag may nakasuhan at nakulong, we are successful graft busters. Pero kung hindi naman, at walang nasauli na pera o walang narecover, nag-fail ang gobyerno," he said.

Pointing out that the committee needs to dig deeper into the controversial issue, Cayetano cited news reports linking businesswoman and pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles to appointed officials in government.

"I was looking into the news. They said that NABCOR [National Agribusiness Corporation] former President Allan Javellana was introduced to Napoles and whistleblower Benhur Luy by a Department of Agriculture (DA) employee named Manuel Jarmin... We found out that he is now the acting director of the Livestock Development council of DA. He has been the acting director since 2010," Cayetano disclosed.

"We dug a little bit deeper and found out that there is such a corporation as Jimmy's Bar and Grill that seems to be incorporated by Jimmy Napoles, the husband of Ms. Napoles. Apparently, even in Comelec [Commission on Elections], Manuel Recto Jarmin is listed as a nominee of an admitted Napoles party-list in 2007," he added, referring to the Samahan ng mga Mangangalakal sa Ikauunlad ng Ekonomiya (SMILE) party-list founded by the Napoleses and was allegedly part of the controversial Hello Garci Operations.

Cayetano expressed his concern over Jarmin's relations with the Napoleses and why he remains to hold a position in government.