Jinggoy blasts COA chief, colleagues over 'selective justice' on 'pork' issue

(Updated 5:31 p.m.) Senator Jinggoy Estrada delivered a scathing privilege speech Wednesday castigating Commission on Audit (COA) chairwoman Grace Pulido Tan for her commission's "biased" and "selective" report on alleged anomalies involving pork barrel funds.

The son of former President and now Manila mayor Joseph Estrada also aimed his tirades at his fellow members of Congress, calling them "hyporcrites" for supposedly turning a blind eye on alleged pork barrel anomalies pointed out by a COA special report involving administration allies.

Estrada, one of the three senators facing plunder charges over the alleged scam, described the recent COA report as "incomplete" as it only covered some agencies and local government agencies.

The senator also criticized Tan for her alleged frequent trips abroad.

"Chairman Grace, gumising ka na. Mukhang lagi ka naje-jetlag sa kababyahe niyo sa ibang bansa," Estrada said.

Estrada further criticized Tan for focusing on supposed non-government organizations (NGOs) linked with alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles during the Senate blue ribbon probe on the anomaly.

"Why the propensity for selective reporting? Why are some pieces of information released while others are kept?" he said.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said it "respects" Estrada's "desire... to voice his opinions concerning the issues he raised in his privilege speech."

"What is important at this point are the ongoing investigations (on the pork barrel scam) and that it is the evidence that will determine where accountability lies," said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

"Hyprocrites"

Estrada, son of former President and now Manila mayor Joseph Estrada, also took the opportunity to criticize his fellow lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives for a supposed "concerted effort" to "demonize" him in relation to the alleged pork barrel scam.
 
In his speech, Estrada called his colleagues "hypocrites" for ignoring the fact that administration allies were not being dragged into the pork barrel issue.

"Ano ba ito? Bastusan na ba ito? Bakit hindi sila nababanggit? Dahil sila ba ay kaalyado?" Estrada said, pointing out  alleged fund misuse committed by House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II and former An Waray Rep. Florencio Noel.
 
Estrada also criticized Senator Teofisto Guingona III for supposedly repeating his name during the Senate investigation on the alleged scam.

"Kailangan po bang ulit-ulitin ang aming pangalan na parang bingi o tanga ang kausap?" he said.

'Singled out' by the media

Even the media was not spared in Estrada's privilege speech, as the lawmaker cried foul over his supposed portrayal in news reports as one of the "worst thieves" in the country.

"The media has prompty printed screaming headlines designed to vilify us in the bar of public opinion," he said as he pointed out the media's supposed "biases and prejudices" against members of the Senate opposition.

"Since the story broke on the alleged anomalies involving the priority development assistance fund or PDAF, there has been a serialized and obvious concerted effort in the media to demonize me," Estrada said.

The senator further lamented how the media supposedly presents the pork barrel scam as some sort of "telenovela."

"We have been singled out... We have yet to be afforded the opportunity to confront the evidence, but we have already been marked as the worst thieves and scoundrels in the government," Estrada said. — with Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News