By Czarina Nicole Ong
Former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) chief and current Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. wants the Sandiganbayan Third Division to disregard letters it has received calling for his suspension.
Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando “Nonoy” Andaya Jr. (Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Andaya has been slapped with 97 violations of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and another 97 violations of Article 217 in relation to Article 171(2) and 48 of the Revised Penal Code due to his involvement in the P900 million Malampaya fund scam from 2009 to 2010.
In a message dated October 2, Andaya commented on the letter of a certain Jose Ventura III and several other individuals before such as Fernando Cruz, Rodel Ampil, and Maribel Abad-Garcia.
"As a person who is against corruption in our government, I would like to ask why the suspension is still pending," the letter from Ventura read.
Andaya said these individuals "do not have standing in these criminal cases," so there is no indication why his position as House Majority Floor Leader will impact them in any way.
"Considering that this Honorable Court has yet to conduct any pre-suspension hearing, and considering further the pendency of the Motion for Bill of Particulars dated February 20, 2018 and the motion for reconsideration dated August 28, 2018, the call for the accused's preventive suspension is premature and devoid of legal basis," the comment read.
Back in 2009, it was agreed that P900 million from the special Malampaya fund was to be used to help farmers who were affected by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. However, the funds were somehow diverted to the fake non-government organizations (NGOs) headed by Janet Lim Napoles.
Andaya reportedly approved the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR's) fund request and signed the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) and Notice of Cash Allocation requested by former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Nasser Pangandaman even before checking with the DBM's budget and management bureau.
On the other hand, Napoles was accused of using her NGOs to implement ghost projects. Her children, brother and former bodyguard helped her scam by forging signatures and fabricating documents.
Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando “Nonoy” Andaya Jr. (Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Andaya has been slapped with 97 violations of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and another 97 violations of Article 217 in relation to Article 171(2) and 48 of the Revised Penal Code due to his involvement in the P900 million Malampaya fund scam from 2009 to 2010.
In a message dated October 2, Andaya commented on the letter of a certain Jose Ventura III and several other individuals before such as Fernando Cruz, Rodel Ampil, and Maribel Abad-Garcia.
"As a person who is against corruption in our government, I would like to ask why the suspension is still pending," the letter from Ventura read.
Andaya said these individuals "do not have standing in these criminal cases," so there is no indication why his position as House Majority Floor Leader will impact them in any way.
"Considering that this Honorable Court has yet to conduct any pre-suspension hearing, and considering further the pendency of the Motion for Bill of Particulars dated February 20, 2018 and the motion for reconsideration dated August 28, 2018, the call for the accused's preventive suspension is premature and devoid of legal basis," the comment read.
Back in 2009, it was agreed that P900 million from the special Malampaya fund was to be used to help farmers who were affected by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. However, the funds were somehow diverted to the fake non-government organizations (NGOs) headed by Janet Lim Napoles.
Andaya reportedly approved the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR's) fund request and signed the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) and Notice of Cash Allocation requested by former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Nasser Pangandaman even before checking with the DBM's budget and management bureau.
On the other hand, Napoles was accused of using her NGOs to implement ghost projects. Her children, brother and former bodyguard helped her scam by forging signatures and fabricating documents.