Tupas blames DA for pork barrel scam

MANILA - Iloilo 5th District Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. on Monday broke his silence on a Commission on Audit report that said he gave funds to bogus NGOs connected to businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles. Speaking to ANC, Tupas confirmed that he gave some of his priority development assistance funds for rehabilitation and agricultural projects in Iloilo after the onslaught of Typhoon Frank (Fengshen) in 2008. However, he denied knowing the NGOs or even one supplier, BB Vergara Plant Nursery. He also said he released the pork barrel funds to the Department of Agriculture with the understanding that it was the DA Region 6 that will implement the projects "and not any organization." "No. I don't know them. Sometime, after the appointment of the COA Chairperson - the new COA Chairperson - these things came to my knowledge. Nagulat ako at that time so I met with the COA chairperson. Sabi ko I released because of Typhoon Frank and other calamities in Iloilo," he said. Tupas said he saw the letters that purportedly authorized the release of the funds to the NGOs. He said his signatures in the letters were forged. "Ibang-iba yung signature ko...Hindi ito yung gusto kong ma-implement. All the signatures were forged. I wrote several letters to her , informing her and asking her to investigate. I also wrote to the Department of Agriculture, telling them to stop the payment of money to the organizations," he said. "Na-victimize ako niyan sometime 2009. That is why, henceforth, hindi na ako nagbigay sa DA." The COA report earlier showed Tupas and other legislators gave millions of pesos in PDAF to questionable NGOs with alleged links to businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles. Some of the NGOs include the Pangkabuhayan Foundation, Inc. (Pang-FI), Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Alay sa Masa Foundation, Inc. (KKAMFI), Kapuso’t Kapamilya Foundation, Inc. (KapKFI), Gabay at Pag-asa ng Masa Foundation, Inc. (GPMFI), Kagandahan ng Kapaligiran Foundation Inc. (KKFI), UPFI and KMBFI. In the interview, Tupas, who is also House justice committee chairman, said he believes there was a conspiracy between the DA and the NGOs that allowed the release of the pork barrel funds. "Definitely, may kasabwatan yan. The DA should be responsible. It is DA and the foundations," he said. The lawmaker, meanwhile, denied that he exceeded his P70 million pork barrel allocation for the years 2007-2009. "According to COA, nag-exceed ako but to my knowledge hindi ako nag-exceed. They have to verify it. To my knowledge, tama lang ako," he said.