BENHUR LUY SPEAKS AT THE SENATE

The second cousin and former close aide of Janet Napoles, whistleblower Benhur Luy, who  exposed the alleged ten billion pork barrel scam involving lawmakers and Janet,  appears before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Wearing a bullet-proof vest with the initials WPP or Witness Protection Program, he faced the senators to substantiate his accusation that his former employer set up fake non-governmental organizations (NGOs) so she could siphon off pork barrel funds from senators and congressmen.

Photo from Rappler

Justice Leila de Lima presented Benhur to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. So he is now finally speaking infront of the senators, some of whom could be actually involved in the scam. He is not telling yet how many senators are involved. Just not yet. Believe me, it is an awkward moment for Benhur and the senators. Why not? The principal accuser answers probing questions from the senators who might be later implicated. Just awkward. 

Benhur verbalized one thing that everyone has heard of previously: Janet Napoles, alleged mastermind of the anomaly, transacted with some lawmakers.

Benhur claimed that some lawmakers received millions of pesos in cash stashed in bags as 'cuts' from pork barrel funds funneled to bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) linked with Janet Lim-Napoles. No less than Janet Napoles brought the bags of cash to some senators. 

"Pine-prepare po namin ang pera, halimbawa po, P20 million. May kausap siyang senador, dadalhin niya ang pera na iyon kapag may meeting sila."

Luy added that some of the senators' chiefs-of-staff even went to their office to get the money. Some staff members of congressmen went to the bank with them to withdraw their cuts from pork barrel funds.

"Nagbibigay sila ng account number tapos kine-credit namin sa account nila minsan kung hindi congressman, 'yung kanilang chief of staff." 

Benhur Luy, however, admitted that he has not personally seen Napoles give money to senators.

That admission could be one of the escape routes of the senators. He did not personally see Janet give money to the senators. But then, does he really need to actually see it to be able to know?

Or is there another smoking gun somewhere else?

At the National Bureau of Investigation, there are heavily-guarded 15 boxes of evidence and more than 2,000 pages of financial transactions detailing the extent of the P10-billion scam. The implicating evidence comes from official records - endorsements of bogus NGOs. 

So the government agencies that received the letters of endorsement from senators have the smoking gun. Benhur is expected to corroborate the evidences that came from the rest of the whistleblowers and the paper trail collected by the NBI. 

Benhur Luy revealed: Napoles exchanged phone calls with lawmakers on the transfer of pork barrel funds to her NGOs.

"Sometimes 'yung lawmakers tumatawag sa kanya, sasabihin: Magsa-submit na kami ng listing, ano gusto mo gawin? Sasabihin ni Mrs. Napoles, 'Sige tatawag muna ako ng agencies kung saan pupuwede." 

Napoles and her office also had contacts at the Department of Budget and Management and implementing agencies where the pork barrel funds are downloaded, Benhur said. The implementing agencies are the National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC), the National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR), and the Zamboanga Rubber Estate Corporation (ZREC). 

More from Benhur Luy:

"After 3 years, sabi ni Napoles, ripe na para makapag-transact sa gobyerno ang aking foundation, ayon sa COA rules." 

This scam was well-planned. The people behind it are visionaries. The incubation period is not only 3 years for sure. I wonder who are the co-planners and advisers. Are they the same top three personalities figuring in the news? Interesting. Could this  explain why spouses and siblings aspire to become politicians, too - for continuity of transactions? 

"Lagi siyang (Napoles) walang tiwala sa mga tao sa opisina kaya ang ginagawa ko ina-attach ko yung xerox copy from the bank para makita niya ang halaga."

Reminds me of the saying, "Ang magnanakaw takot sa kapwa magnanakaw." 

"Si Ms. Napoles nakikipag-usap sa lawmakers; titingnan ang menu ng DBM."

Right timing is really important, eh? Opportunists look for opportunities at the most opportune place in the most opportune time .

"Tapos tatawagan namin ang DBM, tapos dahil may received copy, magbabayad na." 

Purging is a buzz word lately, Secretary Abad. 

"Siya ang magsasabi kung anong foundation." 

The mastermind controls with her own hands. A connossieur! Wasn't it Dick Armey who said, "Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision."

"Si Ms. Napoles, sigurista siya, bago siya magbabayad, kailangan may dokumento." 

Of course! Mahirap nang maisahan. 

"Hindi kasya ang pera sa vault ni Ms. Napoles, ilalagay na namin sa bed niya, minsan sa bath tub." 

“Cash. Merong MC (manager’s check ) pero di po nakapangalan sa senador."

That many? In cold cash! Understandably, cash is more convenient despite the space it occupies over checks, which may leave trails that is hard to explain or deny later. 

So, does Janet rely on bags to deliver money to her business partners? Apparently no.

"May mga chief of staff pumunta sa opisina para kumuha ng pera. Sometimes, sumasama sa bangko pag nag withdraw."

And how much is the sharing? 

"50% ang hatian. Bago pa nito, makikipagtawaran pa si Napoles." 

Oh, dear. Fifty percent. That's fifty-fifty sharing. So it's not 60-40? Janet plays it like a business pro. 

Didn't Janet Napoles and her lawyer, Atty. Lorna Kapunan, who said that Benhur has a different boss? That the 'real' mastermind has fled out of the country? Benhur denies: 

"Wala akong ibang alam na mastermind; siya lang ang boss ko."

As in Janet alone? It's a monstrous venture! Her husband and kids must be in the know. 

 "Aware ang asawa at 2 anak ni Janet Napoles. Husband is consultant while 2 children are part of operations and finance." 

Benhur Luy said that he even went once to the Senate to see a male senator nicknamed "Sexy". 

Why was he called "Sexy"? 

"Dati raw po mataba tapos pumayat."

It is not hard to make a guess in this case. No need, actually. A week ago, Inquirer ran a news item revealing the identity of 'Sexy'.  

“‘Kuya’ and ‘Sexy’ are the code names for Sen. Jinggoy [Estrada]. ‘Pogi’ is for Sen. Bong [Ramon Revilla], and ‘Tanda’ is for Sen. [Juan Ponce] Enrile.” 

I hope Senator Jinggoy is not contemplating on gaining back the pounds he lost now that the investigation is on-going. 

In a phone interview shared via Twitter by Christian Esguerra, Sen. Jinggoy says he monitored the senate hearing. He vehemently denies knowing, ever meeting Benhur Luy. He says: 

"Mamatay man." 

Seriously? Is he that brave to summon Death just to emphasize and accentuate his denial? Why do I feel like I want to feign surprise? But I can't. I am laughing out loud right now courtesy of "Mamatay man." I hope no man, no one dies because of lying.

So how much does a personal assistant of an ultra-rich Janet Napoles receives as salary? 

"Noon P8,000 ang sinahod ko; nitong huli P45,000 na, lahat kami sa opisina." 

That's a pretty good fortune for office workers under the lair of Janet Napoles. Some people can get most of the luck in this world but not every luck is forever.

Benhur, the personal assistant, soon lost his boss's trust and confidence. This is a fragile kind of business operation. No one is indispensable. 

"Nagalit na siya sa akin nang maisip niyang nagsasarili na ako. Pinagmumura niya ako." 

This line made me cringe:

"Mga natalong lawmaker, nag-ahente ahente na rin." 

And why not? They know the place like the back of their hands. They know whom to approach, to tempt. They know how much is at stake from the PDAF. 

Appalling revelations. Scary. Those who are being implicated must be scared of the impending demise of their luxurious futures.

While Benhur speaks infront of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, the firefight between the government forces and a faction of the MNLF in Zamboanga City continues. Where there is a firefight, there is a fire razing among buildings and houses. Zamboanga Airport is close, there is minimal movement of civilians, and hungry, ill evacuees number to more than a thousand already. Abu Sayyaf, MNLF, and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a MILF breakaway group, has combined forces in fighting the government forces, in Lamitan, Basilan. Meanwhile, a disgruntled group of military men allegedly members of ROU is thinking of a coup.

Why the sudden, almost orchestrated simultaneous attacks?

Your guess is as good as mine. 

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.

- Hunter S. Thompson

Be safe everyone!