DOJ, NBI now scrutinizing SAROs of lawmakers in P10-B PDAF scam 

Government investigators have started the "gigantic task" of poring through the special allotment release orders (SAROs) of the senators and around 100 congressmen on the controversial list of Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind behind the pork barrel fund scam. 

According to the Department of Justice, authorities were able to successfully gather the SAROs supposedly issued by the Department of Budget and Management to facilitate the release of government funds to the agency implementing a particular project endorsed by a lawmaker.

 

"I think iyong lahat ng senators na nasa listahan ni Napoles, nakuha na iyong mga SAROs so we’re just evaluating them," Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.

 

However, the existence of SARO does not necessarily mean the lawmakers are automatically involved in the P10-billion fund scam, the Justice secretary clarified.  "These are just proofs na may PDAF talaga iyong mga senators na iyan. But as to whether napunta iyong mga pondo doon sa mga Napoles NGOs ay iyan ang mga vine-verify," she said.

 

Investigators still need to coordinate with the particular implementing agencies to find out in which specific projects the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) has been used, De Lima noted.

 

She said investigators are preparing a matrix of all the SAROs, projects, and corresponding dates in connection with the use of PDAF.

 

De Lima handed over to the Senate blue ribbon committee the Napoles list last May, along with her affidavit and information on SARO numbers, which investigators used to trace and obtain copies of release orders.

 

Apart from lawmakers, investigators are also probing PDAF-related transactions in various local government units.

 

De Lima said the Justice Department and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) may have to coordinate with the Commission on Audit examine the findings regarding the LGUs.

 

"This is really such a gigantic task because iba't iba ang year. May mga matagal na at may mga recent," De Lima noted, saying only the SAROs from 2007 to 2009 are already cleared but the rest are still to be verified. 

 

Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Ramon Revilla Jr. as well as Napoles and a number of government officials  and officers of bogus non-government organizations set up by Napoles have already been charged before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan in relation to PDAF transactions between 2007 and 2009.

 

The government is still trying to uncover other PDAF transactions – as early as 2001 and after 2009 – that may possibly be anomalous.

 

The DOJ and the NBI are still reviewing the third batch of PDAF-related cases, including the agents who supposedly helped facilitate the transactions on behalf of the lawmakers, De Lima said.

 

"Pina-pa-double check or dino-double check namin... Hindi madaling mag double check... lalo na kung through agents lang. Some of those na nasa third batch ay nakipag-deal si Mrs. Napoles through alleged agents," De Lima said.

 

"Now, even if through agents, puwede naman iyon. It doesn't mean na hindi na totooo na tumanggap ng kickbacks basta ba through agents," she added.

 

The "guiding post" for investigators is to build up cases they would be able to defend before the Office of the Ombudsman once the cases have been filed. – VS, GMA News