BMP tells Ombudsman to dig deeper

Press Release

22 November 2013

BMP tells Ombudsman to dig deeper

“SENATOR Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s call for the government to turn Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam prime suspect Janet Lim-Napoles into a state witness is clearly jumping on the gun not in the name of justice but only for political vendetta against her known opponent, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile,” said labor leader Gie Relova of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP).

Relova does not believe that the buck stops at the senators and government officials already charged for the misuse and abuse of the PDAF. “If Senator Santiago and Assistant Ombudsman Joselito Fangon deem that the Ombudsman’s findings are conclusive on the issue of the mastermind then they have caused a great injustice and disservice to the people once again,” he said.

“To tag Enrile as the “unseen hand” in the systematic plunder of the peoples’ funds is ineptitude on the part of the Assistant Ombudsman. If evidence points to Enrile’s guilt then let the wheels of justice grind him slowly but to single him out in a systematic and concerted effort to rob the people will only free up the true “godfather” of this extremely heinous crime,” Relova clarified.

“It is an open secret that graft and corruption has long been etched in public service in all levels of government even before the PDAF scam exploded. Officials cannot deny that scam’s magnitude implies the uninterrupted, deliberate, systematic and extensive corrupt practices and this can only be done systematically, as the reports show, collusion cutting across the branches and layers of government and presidential terms of office occurred,” Relova asserted.

Despite the backtracking of the Office of the Ombudsman on the alleged 8-page memorandum   prepared by to Ombudsman Morales supposedly identified Senator Enrile as the mastermind of the scam, the labor leader claimed that Napoles could only be turned state witness if she divulges all information about her modus operandi and her accomplices during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.

The BMP also demands the state prosecutors to include as a requisite for turning Napoles into a state witness other Napoleses, her competitors in their operation to funnel public funds into their own accounts. “Everyone knows that all government subsidized projects have contractors and/or partnered with non-government organization, some maybe legit but the bulk are plunderers, same as Napoles.

“We acknowledge that Ombudsman Morales and her staff are agonizing as they sift through the documents but the public has been suffering unimaginably everyday by working hard and paying their taxes dutifully. The Ombudsman must truly work for genuine justice and not present the people with mere fall guys, because if they do so, the vicious cycle of corruption and patronage politics shall persist and will only push our people to seek justice by revolting in the streets ” Relova warned.###

Contact person

Gie Relova- 0915 2862555