POSITIVE ang naging testimony ng another whistleblower ni Napoles na si Marina Sala during Bong Revilla’s hearing for plunder at the First Division of the Sandiganbayan on June 28,2018. Maging ang government witness, Arlene Baltazar, has cleared Revilla from any involvement in the alleged Priority Development Fund (PDAF) scam.
Baltazar, accountant and bookkeeper of JLN Corporation binigyang linaw at nag-testified tulad ni Sula. Ang mga documents being attributed to Revilla were in fact prepared in their office at pinirmahan ni Benhur Luy.
Confronted with the letters of endorsement, sinabi ni Baltazar sa korte na hindi niya ma-recall ang specific dates. It could all have been forged by Luy. “It was Benhur Luy who signed these (documents). Pirma po ni Benhur lahat ng mga ito,” paglilinaw ni Baltazar.
Paano nalaman ni Baltazar na pirma ni Benhur ‘yun ? “Standard practice,” sabi niya. Pressed further to clarify her statements, Sagot nito, “Nakita ko siyang pumipirma. No one else signs sa amin. Si Benhur lang ang pumipirma.”
Lumalabas sa cross examination by the prosecution, the whistleblower revealed she was certain it was Benhur Luy who faked the documents without Revilla’s knowledge because they shared working space. “Magkalapit lang po kami. Ganito po kami kalayo (demonstration about being two feet apart).
Tinanong si Balatazar if they had a divider or separate cubicle? “Wala po. In fact, isa lang table namin. ‘Yung mga papeles niya nakapatong pa sa pwesto ko.’
Before ending her testimon , Justice Geraldine Faith Econg asked the witness, “Can you say with certainty whether Revilla received or did not receive kickbacks ?” Mabilis ang sagot ni Baltazar, “I can say with certainty that Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. did not receive any money or kickbacks from the NGO’s.
Sula earlier revealed that it was Benhur Luy who prepared and faked all PDAF documents being used against Revilla. She also cleared Revilla of any participation in the scam and asserted Revilla never received any kickbacks.
Aside from exposing being told by the presecution to just corroborate all statements by Luy, she also revealed being ordered by Luy to “Idiin mo yang si Revilla.” In a phone call one week before she took the stand. Sabi pa ni Sula, Sinabihan po ako ng panel na mag-corroborate lang daw ako sa testimony ni Benhut Luy dahil kung hindi masisira ang kaso. Kahit na marami po siyang mga sinabi na hindi totoo. Si Director Toribio ng panel ni Revilla sa Ombudsman… tinuturuan po niya ako kung paano sumagot.”
Obviously emotionally affected, Sula continued to impress upon the Court what she went through, “Ngayon lang po ako nabigyan ng pagkakataon na masabi ang nalalaman ko. Nagsasabi lang ako ng totoo.”
“Naiiyak at natutuwa po ako ng sabay,”say ng former Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. after hearing the testimony of Marina Sula, a whistleblower in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAP) scam who took the witness stand in his hearing last June 28,2018.
“After four years, four long years, this. Today’s revelations only confirm what I have known from the beginning – that I was targeted, “ Revilla told reporters.
Revilla’s lawyers are now contemplating asking the Court to exclude Benhur Luy from the Witness Protection Program and revoke his immunity.
AYAW Paawat!
by Eddie Littlefield
