Manila files corruption cases against three senators for misuse of funds (Reuters)

In a breakthrough in the fight against corruption in the Philippines, the government prosecutors have announced their decision to file plunder cases in an anti-graft court against three senators and seven others for the misuse of congressional funds worth billions of pesos. The senators, namely Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr, and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, were found to have illegally diverted their congressional allocations in exchange for kickbacks, leading to the amassing of 172 million pesos, 242 million pesos, and 183 million pesos, respectively. The scandal involving the “pork barrel” funds channeled to fictitious non-government organizations (NGOs) has been exposed by three whistleblowers, who used to work for the mastermind behind the scheme, Janet Lim Napoles. If convicted, the senators could face life imprisonment and forfeiture of their illegally acquired assets. Manila has lost about 200 billion pesos a year to corruption, which has fueled poverty in the country. Despite improving its image under the Aquino administration, the Philippines remains one of the most corrupt countries in East Asia.

  corruption cases against three senators for misuse of funds