MANILA-Justice Secretary Leila De Lima debunks news reports of several media outfits which named Senators Antonio Trillanes, Loren Legarda, and Koko Pimentel as additional legislators linked to the misuse of P10-billion pork barrel funds.
De Lima, in her press statement, categorically denied that Senators Trillanes, Legarda, and Pimentel are in any way connected to the on-going investigation. She said: "We are wondering where those additional names are coming from. As far as I know, those names do not appear in the documents/records currently in NBI’s possession. There appear to be unseen hands or elements that are trying to muddle the on-going NBI probe."
Meanwhile, Atty. Levito Baligod, whistleblower Benhur Luy's lawyer, also denied these reports. He clarified: "There is no truth to what came out in certain print and on-line news items that Benhur Luy named in any written statement additional legislators as being involved in the so-called PDAF scam. Any statement to that effect is the responsibility of the concerned reporter."
The National Bureau of Investigation Director Nonnatus Rojas likewise made a similar statement belying the published reports. Rojas said that: "We just want to make it of record na as far as NBI is concerned, wala kaming mga nilalabas na pangalan. Wala din kaming dokumento na nilalabas implicating the senators and even yung mga ibang personalities."
"Hindi kasi namin policy sa NBI ang nagrereveal ng mga pangalan or implicate prematurely ng mga personalities especially legislators and senators until na matapos namin ang aming imbestigasyon. It just so happened that in the newspapers today, parang lumalabas na NBI ang nagre-reveal ng mga pangalan ng mga certain senators and other persons pero klaro ko lang hindi namin ginagawa ‘yun and that even documents, we are not revealing or furnishing documents," Rojas added.
Rojas also warned readers to be discriminating of the reports coming out: "It's very important.. for the readers to discriminate ‘pag nagbabasa sa diyaryo. Tingnan mabuti kung based ba sa interview, did they name kung sino ang ini-interview at pinangalanan si ganito at si ganyan, or nakalagay lang sa diyaryo na according to sources, according to sources that is privy to the investigation. Ang sinabi daw ay si senator ganyan, congressman ganyan. Ika-klaro ko lang, NBI will not reveal the progress of the investigation kaya if ever those will come out in the newspaper, I hope that our readers will be more discriminating.
