DETAINED businesswoman and alleged Priority Development Assistance Fund scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to all counts of graft and malversation charges filed against her at the Sandiganbayan regarding the multi-billion peso scheme.
Napoles attended her arraignment before the anti-graft court’s Second Division for three counts of graft and three counts of malversation of public funds.
The case is in connection with the alleged misuse of former Davao del Norte Rep. Arrel Olaño’s congressional allotment worth more than P7.7 million in 2007.
In a related development, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered on Tuesday the filing of direct bribery and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees before the Sandiganbayan against two revenue officials.
Nora Halamani, group supervisor, and Abolais Ampa, revenue officer 3, have been accused of demanding P400,000 “for the boys” in exchange for approved and signed Bureau of Internal Revenue payment forms.
The duo were assigned in Manila’s Revenue District Office 29.
Based on its June 30 resolution, the Ombudsman said it conducted inquest proceedings against the two BIR officials right after their entrapment by the National Bureau of Investigation operatives on June 29.
Halamani and Ampa were tasked to handle the tax liabilities of Dealco Farms Inc.
They demanded the payment of money in exchange for the forms which the taxpayer needed to submit to a bank.
They were caught red-handed by the NBI after receiving the bribe money “for the boys” inside the third floor of the BIR office in Intramuros, Manila.
Halamani received the brown envelope containing the marked money consisting of four bundles amounting to P350,000.
Based on the case information, Olaño chose the bogus non-government organizations of Napoles as “project partners” and the Technology Resource Center as implementing agency.
Investigations, however, proved the projects of the NGOs were non-existent.
Former Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary for Operations Mario Relampagos is also a respondent in the case for allegedly facilitating the special allotment and release order of Olaño’s PDAF.
For his part, Olaño’s camp said the former lawmaker should not be penalized in the case, saying “there is no law penalizing members of the House of Representatives by nominating a particular NGO.”
Olaño was also present at the arraignment but had not entered a plea since his legal counsel would file a motion for reconsideration.
Relampagos and then-DBM employees Rosario Nuñez, Marilou Bare, and Lalaine Paule also have pending motions for reconsideration.
The court set the preliminary conference of the case on Aug. 7 and 8, while the arraignment of Napoles’ co-accused was reset to Sept. 4.
Aside from this case, Napoles is facing other PDAF scam-related plunder and graft charges at the Sandiganbayan.