Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22) — Senator Gringo Honasan on Friday refused to enter a plea on the two graft cases against him over his alleged misuse of his P30 million pork barrel funds.
The Sandiganbayan 2nd Division then entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
The anti-graft court proceeded with the arraignment after junking the senator’s motions to dismiss the charges, lift his arrest warrant, and defer his arraignment.
Honasan, who is currently out on bail, was meant to allocate his Priority Development Assistance Fund to finance livelihood projects for Muslim communities in Metro Manila and Zambales province, with the NCMF as implementing agency.
The Ombudsman said Honasan on May 30, 2012 authorized the payment of P29.1 million to non-government organization Focus Development Goals Foundation, Inc. in two tranches, without following procurement rules.
Honasan, however, denied the allegations, saying he is “completely innocent of the charges” against him.
If found guilty, Honasan may face imprisonment of up to 10 years and perpetual disqualification from public office.
Senator Bong Revilla is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center for allegedly benefiting from a multibillion-peso scam where businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles allegedly funneled lawmakers’ pork barrel funds to fake NGOs. He is charged with plunder.
Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy were also jailed but were eventually allowed to post bail.
The Supreme Court ruled the PDAF or pork barrel as unconstitutional in 2013.
CNN Philippines’ Anjo Alimario, Eimor Santos, and Ver Marcelo contributed to this report.
