Pork ‘scam’ whistleblower admits Napoles NGO legit

Pork barrel scam witness and former Napoles employee Merlina Suñas on Wednesday told the court that the non-government organization registered under her name was legitimate, contradicting earlier statements that the alleged scam was perpetrated through fake NGOs.

"It's not a bogus NGO as far as I am concerned. Yun po ang pagkakaalam ko. Nagkaroon ng deliveries pero under delivery [or] kulang," Suñas testified during the continuation of the bail hearing of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

Napoles is accused of colluding with lawmakers to divert millions in public funds through bogus NGOs. She faces multiple graft and plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan, along with several others including three incumbent senators.

A former assistant of Napoles, Suñas is listed as president of the People's Organization for Progress and Development Foundation, Inc (POPDFI).

In her earlier testimonies, Suñas said the deliveries to beneficiaries listed under Napoles NGOs were ghost deliveries. But on Wednesday, she changed her tune, saying there were in fact real deliveries.

"Yung first project, noong 2004, yun yung walang delivery. Yung second, noong 2004 to 2005, there was a delivery, it was a Department of Agriculture project," she said.

Napoles' lawyer, Dennis Buenaventura, questioned Suñas on the frequency of the deliveries as opposed to the actual transactions, but Suñas repeatedly said she couldn't be sure if she remembers the details of the transactions.

"Parang mga 10 to 15 transactions lahat. Yung last ay nung 2012. Sa Olingan, Pangasinan; San Nicolas, Batangas at sa Dinalupihan. Complete yung delivery sa Olingan at Dinalupihan, pero di ko na po matandaan yung sa San Nicolas," she said.

Suñas added that the money used to fund her NGOs came from many sources, including the pork barrel or Priority Development Assitance Fund (PDAF) of detained Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and from local government units.

"Pero yung kay Enrile tumigil na ng 2009, yung 2010 to 2012, mga LGUs yun," Suñas said.

Buenaventura chided Suñas for her inconsistent testimony, saying she has changed her story numerous times.

"Inconsistent from day one yung witness nila. So you can't really rely on her. Basically ngayon nakita natin, she refuses to answer questions properly, nagpapaliwanag siya. Pero ang importante ang NGOs na kini-claim nila on the offset na bogus, in reality pala mga honest to goodness NGOs na may deliveries. Nagtataka kami bakit nila kini-claim na bogus kung meron naman palang deliveries," he said.  —KBK, GMA News