Nancy asks Blue Ribbon: What happened to Malampaya Fund probe?
...says committee sitting on probe, no plans of uncovering the truth

Senator Nancy Binay fears that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has given up plans to pursue the controversial Malampaya Fund scam with calls for an investigation on the P900-million racket placed on the backburner.

"What happened to the resolutions calling for a probe on the Malampaya Fund scam? If we truly want to uncover the truth then by now, the panel should have at least held one hearing on the issue," the lady senator pointed out.

"I am calling on Senator TG Guingona, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman, to start the investigation on the Malampaya Fund scam as soon as possible. Let us show the people that we are committed to investigating the anomalies hounding our government," she urged.

The senator recalled that fellow member of the opposition, Senator JV Ejercito, filed a resolution calling for a Senate inquiry into the Malampaya Fund's questionable transactions.

Alleged pork barrel scam brains Janet Lim-Napoles, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and several others are facing plunder complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman for their supposed hand in the Malampaya Fund anomaly.

Napoles is currently detained at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna over a serious illegal detention case.

"I fear that the issue has been placed on the backburner now that the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel racket who is also involved in the Malampaya Fund scam, Janet Lim-Napoles, has been placed behind bars. This should not make us complacent, in fact, we should work harder to solve these cases now that we can summon Napoles to the hearings," Binay said.

"Gaya nga po ng paulit-ulit kong sinasabi, nawalan na ng tiwala sa Senado ang mamamayan, huwag na po natin silang bigyan ng rason upang lalo tayong pagdudahan. Let us investigate the Malampaya Fund scam now," Binay urged.

Senator Binay has earlier mulled the idea of having a sub-committee created to tackle the anomaly, should Senator Teofisto "TG" Guingona III be too busy to handle the inquiry.

The Blue Ribbon Committee has earlier deferred the Malampaya Fund scam hearing, citing the unavailability of its resource person from the Commission on Audit (COA).

"I hope Senator TG would soon realize that the Malampaya Fund scam is as important as the other cases being tackled by the Blue Ribbon Committee. Sana po ay pakinggan niya ang mamamayan na ang hiling ay malaman kung sino ang nasa likod ng anumalyang ito," Binay said.

"Sa pagpapatuloy po ng mga imbestigasyong ito natin mapapatunayan na tayo ay nasa panig ng mamamayan," the senator added.