Solon accuses Baligod of conspiring with ex-staff to implicate him in pork barrel scam

Bulacan Rep. Arturo Robes accused lawyer Levito Baligod Monday of conniving with his former staff member and San Jose del Monte City Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro to implicate him and his wife in the new alleged P500-million pork barrel scam.

In a privilege speech, Robes asked if Baligod, who exposed the alleged anomaly, received a bribe from San Pedro to accuse him and his wife Rida of misusing his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation.

“How much money came to you from the wallet of this City Mayor - whose family name is even consonant with that of a saint who holds the key to the pearly gates of heaven – if only to orchestrate the wreckage of my name and that of my wife Rida in page 1 and page 15 of the September 3 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer?” the lawmaker asked, addressing the lawyer.

Throughout the speech, Robes sometimes referred to Baligod as “Senator Baligod,” insinuating that the latter had plans of running for Senate in the 2016 polls.

Baligod is the former lawyer of the original pork barrel scam whistleblowers led by Benhur Luy.

Citing documents submitted by Baligod to the Office of the Ombudsman, the Inquirer last week named Robes’ wife and North Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco as among the 15 operators who allegedly facilitated the diversion of 20 lawmakers’ pork barrel fund allocation to bogus non-government organizations not linked to businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

Catamco has denied the allegation.

Baligod has filed malversation charges against the 20 lawmakers who allegedly misused their PDAF from 2007 to 2009.

'Ricalde's handiwork'

Contrary to Baligod’s allegation, Robes said it was whistleblower Bernadette Ricalde who orchestrated the diversion of PDAF to the questionable NGOs, such Workphil Foundation where she worked as project officer.

“It (PDAF misuse) was her handiwork; all works appertaining to the gathering of funds for  the required initial capitalization, its registration with the SEC and its accreditation with the DSWD and TESDA, were all products of her hand. She was the one who nominated, changed, and manipulated the composition of its incorporators, bringing on board new names she alone knows. This was part of her devious scheme to gain virtual control of the organization,” he said.

Robes said he fired Ricalde from his office in 2011 because he discovered she had been promising contracts from Sagip-Buhay Foundation to certain contractors in exchange for loans.

“Her anomalous transactions, only averted and discovered in time, were made the very same bases for her termination,” he said, adding that Ricalde only claimed to have had enough of the lawmaker’s wife’s alleged wrongdoing so she could “court public sympathy.”

Robes said he found Ricalde’s allegation of his wife’s purported wrongdoing, which was published in the Inquirer, highly suspicious considering that it was done four years after her termination from his office.

“I can’t help but suspect that her action is politically-motivated, and with a certainty of backing from her principal in whose payroll her name now appears,” he said.

The lawmaker said he has filed a total of five cases against Ricalde for her supposed misdeeds. Two of these cases pertain to libel, another two were for estafa, while one is for falsification of public documents.

Probe Baligod, Ricalde

Considering the gravity of the allegations lodged by Baligod and Ricalde against him and his wife, Robes asked Congress to investigate the two individuals for their alleged “mishandling” of the issue surrounding the 20 lawmakers’ purported misuse of their pork barrel funds, and for the claims they told the media.

“In aid of legislation, [it is hoped that] we may be able craft laws that govern the mechanisms and dynamics of ‘whistle-blowing,’” he said.

Sought for comment, Baligod urged Robes to let either Congress or the Ombudsman investigate the allegations against him and his wife.

“We are willing to cooperate [in the investigation],” he said in a text message.

Baligod added that while Robes is obliged to explain his side in the controversy, he believes the lawmaker is “outraged by the wrong reasons.”

“As a public official, Cong. Robes has the obligation to explain his side of the issue, pettiness excepted,” he said. -NB, GMA News