Angara says pork barrel issue is not a "scandal" but just a "controversy"

For Senator Edgardo Angara whom the Commission on Audit report showed getting a 300 plus million excess in his pork barrel funds, this issue involving Janet Lim-Napoles is a mere "controversy" and not a "scandal" as being portrayed by the media.

Fact is, say, Angara, Napoles should be accorded the courtesy of being presumed "innocent" while the investigation is on-going.

“They should have embargoed [the report] because that is prejudicial publicity." says Angara in an interview with Philipine Daily Inquirer reporter Gil Cabacungan referring to the COA. " The documents are incomplete. There are steps that it should take before declaring an NGO is indeed fake. This has created a feeding frenzy because this juicy news, both local and international,” he said.

For someone who were entrusted by the people with about 384.375 million, where about 14.4 million was given to an NGO, Kalusugan ng Bata, Karunungan ng Bayan Incorporated, where Angara is an incorporator, stockholder and board Member and another 9 million given to Jeverps Enterprises, one of the firms of Janet Lim-Napoles, this so-called "misuse" of public funds is not a serious thing which merits a media frenzy.

I don't know about Angara, but I do know and feel that this issue looks, feel and appears to be a serious scandal, not just a controversy.

Robbing the public coffers of 10 plus billion pesos is immoral, evil and really scandalous, because this thing happened during a time when 40 plus million Pinoys only eat once a day when Napoles and her group reportedly splurge the people's monies.

Yes, I believe when Napoles always say that her wealth was "pinagpaguran" or came from her industry or being industrious, yes. She was indeed industrious especially in preparing fake documents and appearing at all those meetings with high-profile people, particularly politicians.

"Scandalous" because in a country which its government claims to be "poor", news that billions got lost in translation really feels being hit below the belt or is as gut-wrenching as being fired upon by a gunman.

It is scandalous because for many, it is unmarkably evil and patently condemnable that such a wide-scale thievery is being undertaken while many wallow in extreme poverty.

And Angara, being used to the big time thievery in the past, sees nothing scandalous about what Napoles and her gang reportedly did.