Military groups ‘closely monitoring’ pork saga Former Sen. Edgardo Angara’s call on President Aquino to act on the dragging pork barrel issue is shared by several military officials, who sought the immediate filing of cases against those involved based on evidence instead of dealing with the numerous “Napolists” now coming out. House members also urged the Palace to refrain from issuing statements regarding the Napoles scam. According to House deputy majority leader Sherwin Tugna of the Citizens Battle Against Corruption, members of the executive department should leave the Napoles scam in the hands of the courts. Tugna said he is supportive of the position of Angara. “I support Sen. Ed Angara’s position that members of the executive department should leave the matter in the hands of the courts and exercise self-restraint in granting interviews or even commenting on the case,” Tugna said yesterday. Tribune sources in the military were one in saying that the alleged P10 billion pork barrel scam supposedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles is closely being monitored. “That is the hot topic among the discussions right now. We can’t help but talk about the issue considering the magnitude it has now reached,” a ranking Camp Aguinaldo official said on condition of anonymity. “We believe that formal filing of charges, based on evidence, could put the issue to rest,” he added. Another officer said that “everyone wants the issue to be resolved fast and the culprits jailed.” During the past weeks, several lists of those who allegedly benefited from the Napoles syndicate that misused the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) have been coming out, implicating more or less 200 present and former government officials, including military officials. “With these lists coming out now, the issue becomes confusing, distorted...now the government should be careful,” a mid-ranking officer said. Another source, however, dismissed Angara’s fear that the issue may spark a “national paralysis.” Angara, who served as Senate President, urged President Aquino to call on the Executive and the Judiciary to exercise self-restraint in discussing the issue on the so-called pork barrel scam to prevent possible “national paralysis.” Angara added he would no longer be surprised if there will be those who will try to exploit the situation in attempting to destabilize the government as “obviously, it’s very good staple for instability and restlessness.” “That’s bull s—t...when formal charges are filed, this issue will die down,” the officer said. Angara said that the matter concerning the alleged extent of corruption in government perpetrated by the group of Napoles, who is under detention, has rendered the bureaucracy “politically paralyzed,” he said. The senator, who had retired from the Senate since June last year and was replaced by his son Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, is among those recently linked to the pork barel scam based on lists coming out on legislators who were associated with the PDAF misuse syndicate. Sonny Angara, who has been quite vocal even from the start of the Senate blue ribbon investigation into the Napoles pork scam on not having any transaction with the alleged mastermind in the past, was also not spared and his name was included in the purported “list” that would likely be the subject of a probe in the upper chamber. “I thought six months ago, since this is already in the hands of the court, tribune.net.ph/headlines/military-groups-closely-monitoring-pork-saga
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 15:47:34 +0000
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