PORK, GOV’T FUNDS USED IN GHOST PROJECTS

The National Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations that the

government has been defrauded of some P10 billion over the past 10 years by a syndicate using funds

from the pork barrel of lawmakers and various government agencies

for scores of ghost projects.

How P10-B racket works

Using just a list of bogus recipients and foundations, and forged signatures of local officials, a small company has allegedly converted billions of pesos in government funds into kickbacks.

The scheme involved the Malampaya funds, the fertilizer fund and the lawmakers’ allotments from the priority development assistance fund (PDAF), or pork barrel.

• The funds, which were deposited in the foundations’ bank accounts, were eventually remitted to her to be split between her and the lawmaker whose PDAF allotment was used, or the official of the state agency involved.

• The Commission on Audit had reported that some P195 million in pork barrel from Enrile, Estrada and Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., and then Buhay Rep. Rene Velarde went to a questionable nongovernment organization in 2011.

• The audit report identified the four lawmakers as the sources of the P206-million PDAF allotted for the DA in 2009 and 2010.

• Of the amount, P201 million was turned over by the agriculture department to ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp. (ZREC), a government-owned and controlled corporation, which in turn transferred P194.97 million to Pangkabuhayan Foundation Inc. (PFI).Of the amount received by PFI, P74.69 million came from Enrile’s pork barrel, P106.7 million from Estrada’s, P9.7 million from Revilla’s, and P3.88 million from Velarde’s, the COA said.

Malampaya fund lost P900M in JLN racket

• At least P900 million from royalties in the operation of the Malampaya gas project off Palawan province intended for agrarian reform beneficiaries has gone into a dummy nongovernment organization (NGO), according to an affidavit on a P10-billion racket submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

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