Gigi Reyes: Enrile does not recall confirming I signed off on Napoles NGOs

Lawyer Jessica “Gigi” Reyes on Tuesday testified in court that ex-Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile did not recall confirming that it was her signature in the seven letters that endorsed Janet Napoles entities as implementing agencies for Enrile's pork barrel.

Reyes was testifying in the P172 million plunder case lodged against her, Enrile, Napoles, and others over the alleged misuse of Enrile’s pork barrel - officially called the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Reyes said that while Enrile signed a letter sent to COA in March 2012 in which he confirmed the signatures in the endorsement letters of Napoles-run non-government organizations were mainly Reyes' and Enrile's Deputy Chief-of-Staff Jose Antonio Evangelista, the said 2012 Enrile letter to COA did not go through Reyes.

Reyes, at the time, was Enrile’s chief of staff.

“He (Enrile) signed the letter in March 2012 addressed to COA... he supposedly said he was confirming the signatures of his staff members, mainly myself and DCOS Deputy Chief-of-Staff Jose Antonio Evangelista,” Reyes said.

“I raised the issue, very respectfully, to my former boss, because I said, 'Boss, how can you be the one to authenticate our signatures? I haven’t seen it,'” Reyes added.

According to Reyes, Enrile could not recall signing the 2012 letter sent to COA.

“The former SP did not even remember when he signed that. He was upset with the deputy chief-of-staff, and he (Evangelista) was very apologetic and said, 'I thought I was doing the right thing because the COA is pressing for a reply. I could not approach you because you were busy,'” Reyes said.

“He (Evangelista) included it (the 2012 letter to COA) in the folder for the Senate President’s signature along with other letters. He did not show me [the 2012 letter to COA before having it signed by the Senate President],” Reyes added.

Reyes denied signing the seven endorsement letters presented by the state prosecutors as evidence, saying that it was Evangelista who prepared the master list of PDAF beneficiaries.

Reyes also denied that she received kickbacks from Enrile’s PDAF.

She also disputed the claim of confessed PDAF agent prosecution witness Ruby Tuason and prosecution witness Benhur Luy that she complained that her kickback from Enrile’s PDAF was short P500,000. — DVM, GMA Integrated News