MANILA: Militant group Bayan yesterday doubted if government officials, especially allies of President Benigno Aquino III, implicated in the priority development assistance scam would be held accountable.
“The bigger test for the Department of Justice is still the multi-billion peso PDAF scam, and whether those involved, including allies of the Aquino administration, will be held to account,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr said.
Earlier, the Department of Justice issued an arrest warrant against the scam’s alleged mastermind, Janet Lim-Napoles, for serious illegal detention.
“As calls for the abolition of congressional and presidential assistance mount, the people await the results of the probe conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation. It remains to be seen if Napoles and the politicians and other government officials who disbursed the PDAF will actually be charged for the scam,” Reyes added.
He also accused both the House of Representatives and Senate accused of virtually covering up the PDAF disbursement scam for refusing to open any probe on the controversy.
“What is disturbing is that President Aquino’s allies in both chambers of Congress have refused to open any probe into the conduct of the PDAF disbursements. Congress has become complicit in the Napoles cover up,” Reyes said.
Bayan reiterated the call for the abolition of the congressional and presidential assitance and discretionary funds.
“We demand that these funds be re-channelled to public services such as health, education and housing among others. We demand that those responsible for plunder be made fully accountable,” the group said.
Meanwhile, Senator Jinggoy Estrada yesterday said that he will not allow the House of Representatives to subject him in a congressional inquiry in connection with the scam.
Estrada said that he will not subject himself under the jurisdiction of the other chamber of Congress, “just in case they are going to investigate us.”
“I will subject myself to my peers in the Senate,” he assured.
Estrada urged the Senate leadership to come up with a stand on the issue after the filing of formal charges against senators who are being linked to the controversy.
“… After the investigation and if formal charges are be filed, I think, the Senate as a whole will have to meet,” he said.
The senator said that the Senate remains unaffected by the scam “because we’re not [investigating] it as of the moment.”
The Philippine star
