Pork barrel scam: Ombudsman upholds probable cause to sue Lanete, et al.

(UPDATED 6:12 p.m.) The Office of the Ombudsman on Monday affirmed its earlier ruling finding probable cause to file plunder and other charges against Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete and three other former lawmakers in connection with their alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso pork barrel fund scam.

 

In a press conference in Quezon City, Assistant Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan announced that the Office of the Ombudsman, in a resolution issued on December 29, 2014 denied the motions for reconsideration (MRs) separately filed by Lanete, former Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa, former Agusan Del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza and former Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Constantino Jaraula, asking the Ombudsman to junk its earlier ruling to file charges against them before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.

 

Rafanan said the Office of the Ombudsman also denied the MR filed by former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) director Edgar Valdez after the Office of the Ombudsman in October last year found probable cause to charge him with plunder and graft.

 

Rafanan said Lanete will be charged with plunder and multiple counts of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for the alleged anomalous use of her Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel fund allocations, worth P112.29 million from 2007 to 2009.

 

Rafanan said that based on the complaint filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last year, Lanete received P108.4 million- worth of kickbacks for allowing the allocation of her PDAF to the fake non-government organizations (NGOs) allegedly owned by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

 

Also to be charged with plunder is Valdez. He will also be charged with seven counts of graft and three counts of direct bribery.

 

Meanwhile, Rafanan said Plaza will be charged with five counts of malversation, five counts of graft and two counts of direct bribery for allocating P27.5 million of his PDAF  for 2008 and 2009 to Napoles' NGOs.

 

The Ombudsman said Plaza received total commissions, rebates, or kickbacks amounting to at least P42.1 million from PDAF-funded projects from 2004 to 2010.

 

Dangwa, meanwhile, will be charged with one count of malversation, five counts of direct bribery and three counts of graft for allegedly allowing his 2001 to 2010 PDAF worth P54 million to be coursed through Napoles' NGOs.

 

Dangwa allegedly received at least P26.7 million worth of commissions through his representatives, according to the testimony of pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy.

 

Jaraulla, on the other hand, will be charged with three counts each of malversation, graft and direct bribery for the alleged misuse of his P50.5 million PDAF from 2004 to 2007 in exchange for P20.8 million-worth of commissions.

 

Co-accused of Lanete, Dangwa, Plaza, Jaraulla and Valdez in their cases was  the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

 

Also to be charged were Napoles' driver and bodyguard John Raymund De Asis, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, and DBM officials Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule, and Marilou Bare.

 

"We will be filing these cases with the Sandiganbayan probably this week or early next week," Rafanan said.—NB, GMA News