Aguirre: No ‘selective justice’ in PDAF scam reinvestigation
MANILA – The Department of Justice on Tuesday started reinvestigating the multibillion- peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre ordered the reorganization of the Task Force on PDAF that will look into the pork barrel cases.
“Just like in the previous investigation, the statements and evidence will be validated through records from relevant implementing agencies and the Commission on Audit,” said Aguirre. “But this time, we can assure the public that there will be no selective justice.”
The task force, headed by Undersecretary Antonio Kho, will try to correct the “miscarriage of justice” in the earlier investigation, he said.
It will first look into the affidavit and documentary evidence to be submitted by detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, said Aguirre.
President Rodrigo Duterte floated the idea of reinvestigating the PDAF scam. He claimed then Justice secretary Leila de Lima allegedly shielded Aquino administration allies from the pork barrel cases.
Then opposition senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada were detained for allegedly channeling pork barrel f unds t o dubious nongovernment organizations.
Enrile was allowed to post bail while Revilla and Estrada were still detained.
Aguirre recently said Napoles will be implicating senators de Lima, Antonio Trillanes IV and Franklin Drilon and former Budget secretary Florencio Abad in the scam./