3rd batch of pork barrel scam cases being prepared- De Lima

MANILA -- Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday gave an update on the status of cases in the pork barrel and Malampaya fund scams. De Lima told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that the first batch of pork scam cases is already in the preliminary investigation stage with the Office of the Ombudsman. The second batch, along with the Malampaya fund complaint, has also been forwarded to the Ombudsman and is now in the fact-finding stage. De Lima revealed they are now building cases for a third batch of respondents. "Because yung affidavit po ni Benhur [Luy] may ilan-ilan ho dun na hindi pa nakakasuhan. Ang pagfi-file po natin ng by batch is that kung nandyan, kung kumpleto na po yung nakakalap na dokumento ng NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) at saka naka-limit ho kasi ngayon sa years 2007 to 2009...because yun yung coverage nung COA (Commission on Audit) special audit report," she said. She said they are also widening their probe beyond the years covered by the COA report, and even to anomalies not related to Janet Lim Napoles and the bogus non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that she set up. Meanwhile, de Lima said the DOJ is being circumspect on who they should entertain as possible state witnesses since they have already built a strong case. "We do believe na yung mga testimonya po nila Benhur and the other whistleblowers ahead of Mrs. Tuason malakas na po yan. Itong paglabas po ni Mrs. Tuason natutuwa po kami dahil sa tingin namin lalong nagpapalakas sa kaso namin," she said. Tuason, Napoles, along with Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., are among those facing charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for their alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam. The scheme involved the funneling of lawmakers' Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to Napoles' fake NGOs. They, in return, allegedly received huge kickbacks from the businesswoman. -- With ANC