Twelve non-government organizations (NGOs) linked to suspected pork
barrel fund scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles ended up as
“beneficiaries” of P900 million worth of royalties from the Malampaya
gas project off Palawan, the Commission on Audit (COA) bared yesterday.
COA Chairman Ma. Gracia Pulido Tan disclosed this yesterday at the
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s initial hearing on the alleged Malampaya
fund scam, which Napoles purportedly hatched in her dealings with
government agencies during the term of former President and now Pampanga
Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Tan said the COA’s audit report on the P900-million Malampaya funds
were based on the Special Allotment and Release Order (SARO) No.
E-09-08417 released in Nov. 19, 2009 and Notice of Cash Allotment (NCA)
No. BMB-E-09-0024816 released in Dec. 21, 2009.
It was Mrs. Arroyo who approved the fund released per the letter of
then Executive Secretary Eduardo P. Ermita dated Oct. 13, 2009, the COA
said.
The funds were supposed to be used as assistance to farmers who were
affected by typhoon “Pepeng” and tropical storm “Ondoy” in 2009 but were
diverted to the questionable NGOs in connivance with some Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) officials, COA added.
Tan identified the NGOs as Karangyaan Para sa Magbubukid Foundation,
Inc. (KPMFI), P82.5 million; Gintong Pangkabuhayan Foundation, Inc.
(GPFI), P82.5 million; Kaupdann para sa Mangunguma Foundation, Inc.
(KMFI), P75 million; Kasagahan Para sa Magsasaka Foundation (KPSMFI),
P75 million; Dalangpan Sang Amon Utod Kag Kasimanwa Foundation, Inc.
(DSAUKKFI), P75-million; Ginintuang Alay sa Magsasaka Foundation
(GAMFI), P77.5 million; Bukiin Tanglaw Foundation, Inc. (BTFI), P75
million; Abundant Harvest For People Foundation, Inc. (AHPFI), P75
million; Tanglaw para sa Magsasaka Foundation (TPSMFI), P72.5 million,
Saganang Buhay sa Atin Foundation, Inc. (SBAFI), P80 million, Micro Agri
-Business Citizens Initiative Foundation, Inc. (MABCFI), P55 million;
Masaganang Buhay Foundation, Inc. (MBFI); P75 million.
These NGOs are different from the eight Napoles organizations
implicated in the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) or pork barrel fund scam.
Three senators – Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and
Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr.—are already facing plunder and corruption
charges for allegedly funneling their pork barrel allocations to
Napoles’ alleged bogus NGOs.
Tan said that based on their significant audit findings, the alleged
underlying basis and purpose of funding – the request of the 97 mayors
for financial assistance to farmers affected by Ondoy and Pepeng –
questionable.
She said 67 mayors denied their signatures, four confirmed their
signatures but denied participation in the transactions, while 26 mayors
did not reply to COA’s request for confirmation.
The letter-requests, she said, were reportedly submitted to the DAR
by the NGOs and not by the mayors. The DAR is just one of the 17
agencies that were given Malampaya funds.
Most of the letter-requests were submitted to DAR after it submitted
funding requests to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The funding requested from DBM, she said, was made on Oct. 22, 2009,
but the 27 letter-requests received by DAR were from Oct. 19 to Oct. 21
while the other letter-requests were received from Oct. 22 to Nov. 8,
2009. There was no proof even that the DAR received the letter-requests
on the said dates.
“There is no validation by DAR of letter-requests. There were no
field reports or endorsements. The letter-requests were submitted by
transferee NGOs,” Tan said.
She said the DAR entered into memorandum of agreements (MOA) with the
12 NGOs even before the issuance of the SARO, violating Presidential
Decree No. 1445 which prohibits government agency into entering into
contracts unless funds are available and authorized or appropriated.
Tan also added the NGOs were selected through the endorsement of the mayors. There was no public or negotiated bidding.
Tan said that the MOAs with 12 NGOs were split into 97 per
municipality or local government unit (LGU), enabling then DAR
Undersecretary Narciso Nieto to exercise his authority to sign the
projects that are less than P10 million.
“If aggregated per NGO, it would have been more than P10-millin and would have to be signed by the DAR Secretary,” she said.
She also said all disbursement vouchers were signed by Nieto; the checks countersigned by him or Teresita Panlilio as OIC-USEC.
Furthermore, the 97 MOAs were notarized by only three commissioned
notary public, namely Delfin Agcaoili, Jr. Editha Tanaboc, and Mark
Oliveros. She said they cannot find Oliveros’ name in the list of
lawyers while the two cannot be located at their given addresses.
Tan said the purported projects of the NGOs were deemed inexistent
since none of the purported beneficiaries selected for validation
confirmed receipt of items.
She also said the purported procurement of items and expenses were
not supported with any documentation and the supposed suppliers were not
even disclosed.
“Parang wala kaming nakitang project at all. I will not even say
ghost delivery. Parang ghost project—it’s more like that,” Tan said in
an interview after the hearing.
Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon
Committee, said his committee will invite former DAR officials to appear
in its next scheduled probe
Guingona particularly named Nieto, former DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, and ex-undersecretary Panlilio.
He also vowed to summon detained Napoles, whistleblower Benhur Luy
and Ruby Tuason, said to be Napoles’ agent in the Malampaya fund scam.
“We will check who would be called first. We need to because it’s
like a pizza pie, we need to slice it first so we can eat it. So we will
determine which ones to call first. But definitely everybody will be
called. Everybody,” Guingona told reporters after the hearing.
He said that based on the initial hearings it was clear there was a
connivance between the NGOs and the DAR officials to misuse the money.
“You must remember this is with the DAR so the beneficiaries should
be agrarian reform communities. But it didn’t end up with there it ended
up in the pockets of these NGOs,” lamented Guingona.
