Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano thinks it’s unfair for Senator Ping Lacson to liken his private foundation, Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC), to the bogus nongovernment organizations (NGOs) of jailed businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles used in her P10 billion pork barrel scam.
Cayetano said that just because government funds were lodged in a private account does not mean its corruption.
“Tanong mo nga kay Senator Lacson ‘yung account n’ya? Hindi ba sa account n’ya galing din sa gobyerno para sa opisina n’ya? So pareho ba ng Napoles ‘yun?” said Cayetano in an interview with reporters.
“Eh private ‘yung account n’ya ‘di ba? Pero dahil senador s’ya, may fund s’ya na nili-liquidate with the signature. So is that also Napoles? So ang layo eh ‘di ba?” he added.
“S’ya ang chairman ng accounts sa Senado, may hawak s’yang funds ngSenado
is there any wrongdoing? No, but if I say parang Napoles din ‘yun ‘di ba parang may mali nang ginawa ‘di ba?” said Cayetano.
Cayetano, as then Foreign Affairs Secretary, formed PHISGOC to take charge of the hosting of the SEA Games which President Rodrigo Duterte wanted scrapped as early as 2017 because he felt the funds should be sued for the rehabilitation of Marawi.
In defending PHISGOC, Cayetano pointed out what was legal and illegal in the Napoles’ pork barrel scam.
“Ang nangyari kay Napoles, peke ‘yung mga delivery, ninakaw ang pera. Hindi naman crime ‘yung sa Napoles na may foundation eh, hindi naman crime sa Napoles na meron kang hawak na government funds,” explained Cayetano.
