THE House minority bloc is insisting on a congressional investigation over the alleged misuse of priority development assistance funds (PDAF) or pork barrel as it filed House Resolution 160 Monday night.
The opposition bloc led by Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora is seeking a joint investigation by the House committees on good government and public accountability, and ethics and privileges on the controversial P10-billion pork barrel scam operated by Janet Lim-Napoles of JLN Corp.
"The magnitude and the destructive effects of the PDAF scam must not be swept into oblivion, as the issue is destroying the trust that members of the Philippine Congress should enjoy from the people they represent," the resolution stated.
"Legislation to correct many processes and procedures involved in the identification, implementation, monitoring, auditing, and public accountability is clearly needed, and will be among the final results of a true and faithful inquiry into this scam," it added.
Zamora's group filed the resolution despite the position of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. that the House of Representatives will not conduct its own probe of the pork barrel scam until government authorities finish their own investigation.
"We should allow the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to finish their investigation without interference from us," Belmonte said.
At least five senators and 23 congressmen have been implicated in the multibillion-peso scam. Senators receive an annual PDAF of P200 million while members of the House of Representatives get P70 million.
"Through deceit and fraud, JLN Corp. had allegedly defrauded the government of billions of pesos through the creation of at least 20 bogus NGOs to obtain funds from PDAF for ghost projects by offering lawmakers substantial commissions from the amount of PDAF, in exchange for the right to determine the implementing agencies and fund beneficiaries," the minority bloc said.
In a caucus, the senators on Monday agreed to wait for the NBI, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit to finish its own probe before they decide whether or not to push through with its own investigation. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)