Miriam: Enrile capable of funding Zambo attackSeptember 26, 2013 6:39pm
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/328300/news/nation/miriam-enrile-capable-of-funding-zambo-attackWith the millions in kickbacks he allegedly got from the pork barrel scam, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile "could easily afford" to fund the attack of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels in Zamboanga City.
This was the accusation made by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, one of Enrile's staunchest critics, in a statement sent to the media on Thursday.
Santiago believes Enrile's defense background makes him capable of using the Zamboanga incident as "diversionary tactic."
"The public should consider his background as defense secretary during martial law, with a proclivity for coddling former police and military officials, and a feckless ambition to rewrite history,” the feisty lawmaker said.
GMA News Online contacted Enrile's media officer, Lizette Nepomuceno, for the opposition leader's comment to the accusation, but she has not responded as of posting time.
Santiago was not the only lawmaker who suspects that the Zamboanga conflict was a diversionary tactic to cover the pork barrel issue. At a press conference last Monday, Magdalo party-list lawmakers Gary Alejano and Francisco Ashley Acedillo said they have learned from a source that at least P40 million was given to the MNLF for the Zamboanga siege.
Santiago also said that she is "morally convinced" of Enrile's "culpability" in the "expensive rebellion" in Zamboanga, as well as the attack at the Commission on Audit's office on Wednesday.
“Enrile is so desperate that he is like a crocodile, who has left his maritime kingdom and is flapping around on land, still hoping to kill his prey," she said.
Enrile is currently facing a plunder charge for allegedly receiving kickbacks from the alleged P10-billion pork barrel anomaly.
The crisis in Zamboanga, launched by followers of founding MNLF chairman Nur Misuari two weeks ago, has so far claimed the lives of 126 people, most of them rebels, the military said. — Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMA News
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Jinggoy admits to building multi-million-peso househttp://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/39933-jinggoy-admits-building-multi-million-peso-houseMANILA, Philippines - Sen Jinggoy Estrada admitted to building a multi-million-peso house in high-end subdivision Wack-Wack Village on Thursday, September 26.
The house was first reported by Rappler on Wednesday.
READ: Jinggoy building multi-million-peso Wack-Wack house?
In a phone patch with reporters, Estrada confirmed he is building the Wack-Wack house which he said he started constructing "last year" or in 2012.
"I sold my property or my house and lot in Greenhills, and that's what I used to pay for the [new] house," he said.
The Wack-Wack house, however, does not appear in Estrada's 2012 Statement of Assets, Liabilites and Net Worth (SALN), the year he said he started construction.
His 2012 SALN lists 3 condo units in San Juan City, a condo unit in Tagaytay City, a farm in Lipa City, plus a condo unit, two other lots, a townhouse and one house "under construction" all in Quezon City.
Wack-Wack Village, however, is located in Mandaluyong City.
Estrada also failed to mention when exactly he sold his house and lot in Greenhills, although the last time a house and lot in Greenhills appeared in his SALN was in 2010. In that SALN, he said he acquired the property through an "exchange."
The Greenhills property disappeared in his 2011 SALN.
While the Greenhills property was no longer in his SALN by 2011 onwards, neither his 2011 or 2012 SALNs reflected acquisition of the new Wack-Wack property.
Fair market value
The listed current fair market value of Estrada's Greenhills property that he said he sold to pay for his Wack-Wack house was P10.9 million. The lot was listed as costing P6.1 million, while the house was valued at P4.8 million, according to his 2010 SALN.
The 3,084-square-meter Wack-Wack house he is building is reported to be worth about P120 million.
His reported net worth in 2012, the year he said he started building the house, was P193,580,509.92
