Lawyer Levito Baligod, legal counsel for at least two state witnesses in plunder and graft charges filed against lawmakers, has started filing cases against 14 Napoles-like operators of the scam involving pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund.
At the launching of the Baligod for Senator Movement in Camp Aguinaldo Sunday night, Baligod disclosed that complaints have been filed against 14 people whom he described as having similar operations as that of scam suspect Janet Napoles.
“In fact I started filing cases involving the other 14 operators. I have already named them in the complaint at the Ombudsman,” Baligod said.
Baligod declined to name the 14 operators.
He said he was also convinced that more people in government and private sectors had dipped their hands in the controversial PDAF scam.
“Just to give you a glimpse, Napoles is just one of about 15 people involved in the PDAF scam including private individuals,” Baligod said as he voiced dismay over the non-inclusion of about 82 NGOs, the 120 congressmen and 20 senators in the charge sheet, whom scam whistleblower Ben Hur Luy have exposed and linked to the fund scandal.
Despite all the voluminous documents and the bulk of evidence they have submitted with the Department of Justice in relation to pork scam, the course of the investigation slowed down, Baligod said.
He expressed disgust over the matter and that he said prompted him to seek election for senator in 2016 “to continue my advocacy against corruption.” Baligod added: “That’s the reason I’m running because as a private citizen, I can do only so much.”
Baligod also said that some P500 billion have been inserted in the 2014 government budget appropriation as part of the entire pork barrel system that politicians have messed up. The PDAF fund was just a pittance, he said.
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