Former Senate President and current Senate Minority Floor Leader Juan Ponce Enrile said he has no intention of betraying his staff in relation to the charges filed against him and 38 others in the Php10-billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Filipino businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.
“I’m not up to betray any of my people. I’ve never been known for that,” Sen. Enrile told reporters.
Sen. Enrile is reacting to the statement issued by his former chief-of-staff, Atty. Jessica “Gigi” Reyes.
Reyes is one of the other 38 people charged with plunder and malversation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and is on the Bureau of Immigration (BI) watchlist along with 34 others.
Reyes left the Philippines before charges could be filed against her.
She earlier said she felt betrayed by her former boss, who she served for 25 years.
“This very tragic development is beyond my comprehension,” she said, reacting to Sen. Enrile’s earlier statements through his lawyer on not having authorized her action concerning his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the formal name of the pork barrel.
“If indeed these statements are sanctioned by or coming from my former boss, then nothing can be worse than this kind of travesty and betrayal,” she said.
Reyes said she had last spoken to Enrile while abroad.
“He even told me to be strong; that we will fight together to prove the accusations against us are false and fabricated,” she said.
Reyes had resigned as Enrile’s aide when he was still Senate President to dispel accusations that she had power to direct Senate matters and authority to sign documents on his behalf.
Senators Enrile, Bong Revilla Jr., and Jinggoy Estrada have all been charged by the NBI, but were not placed on the BI’s watchlist for individuals leaving the country.
Enrile’s camp maintains that he is innocent and ready to face the charges in court.
The Office of the Ombudsman and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee are currently investigating the alleged misuse of PDAF that whistle blower Benhur Luy revealed in his testimonies, claiming that legislators received “cuts” when allocating funds to Napoles’ multiple bogus organizations.
(with reports from ANC, gmanetwork.com/news, mb.com.ph, and abs-cbnnews.com)