Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 24) — Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to form a special task force to reinvestigate the alleged misuse of billions of pesos in public funds.

In two department orders issued on Thursday, Aguirre said the reopening of the probe into the alleged scams involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was “in view of the new evidences discovered.”

In May 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted authorities to look again into the multi-billion-peso PDAF scam.

PDAF, also known as “pork barrel,” was money allocated in the national budget that could be spent at the discretion of lawmakers.

The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in November 2013 because it encroached on the duty of the Executive branch to enact the national budget, where around ₱25 billion was earmarked in 2013 for pork barrel.

The fund came into public scrutiny when the pork barrel scam was uncovered in July 2013 by media investigative reports, which found that lawmakers allegedly funded “ghost projects” with their PDAF, coursing the money through fake foundations and non-government organizations run reportedly by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

An estimated ₱10 billion in government funds were allegedly lost from the scam, with the money supposedly going into the pockets of Napoles and some lawmakers.

The Sandiganbayan ordered in 2014 the arrests of former Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla in relation to the scam, while Napoles surrendered to former President Benigno Aquino III in August 2013 after a Makati court ordered her arrest for an illegal detention charge.

Numerous other lawmakers have also been tagged in the scam.

Enrile and Estrada were allowed by the Supreme Court to post bail for plunder, a non-bailable offense under the law.

Read: Jinggoy Estrada posts bail for plunder case

However, former senator Bong Revilla remains detained and is now undergoing trial.

Meanwhile, Napoles remains imprisoned and faces plunder charges, but Aguirre said in May 2017 that she may name more people allegedly involved in the scam.

Read: Lawyer: Napoles to name ‘higher’ officials involved in pork barrel scam

In October 2011, the Aquino administration set up DAP to speed up government spending by realigning government savings. The Supreme Court in July 2014 declared specific acts of DAP as unconstitutional.

Sen. Estrada said in a September 2013 privilege speech that 20 senators allegedly received ₱50 million from DAP as a reward for convicting impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona, a claim that the Palace denied.

Graft charges were filed against Aquino and former Budget Secretary Butch Abad due to DAP, but the Ombudsman dismissed the charges in March 2017.

Read: Aquino cleared, Abad charged over DAP-Ombudsman