The scam was first exposed in the Philippine Daily Inquirer by Nancy C. Carvajal on July 12, 2013,[1] with the six-part exposé of Carvajal[2][3][4][5][6] pointing to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles as the scam's mastermind after Benhur K. Luy, her second cousin and former personal assistant, was rescued by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on March 22, 2013, four months after he was detained by Napoles at her unit at the Pacific Plaza Towers in Bonifacio Global City.
[5] The scam has provoked public outrage, with calls being made on the Internet and popular protests demanding the abolition of the PDAF,[8] and the order for Napoles' arrest sparking serious discussion online.
[11] Because presidential systems are often prone to political gridlock, the PDAF is often used as a means to generate majority legislative support for the programs of the executive.
[14] For example, during the latter years of the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration, she was more generous in allocating PDAF funds in the annual national budget in order to win the favor of legislators.
In 1996, the Philippine Daily Inquirer published an exposé on systematic corruption in the CDF, with an anonymous congressman (since identified as Romeo Candazo of Marikina) elaborating how legislators and other government officials earned from overpricing projects in order to receive large commissions or kickbacks.
[20] Every recipient agency participating in the scam had employees or officials that maintained contact with Napoles, allowing for the smooth processing of transactions and the expedient release of PDAF funds to her organizations.
[21] In the initial report published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 28 members of Congress (five senators and 23 representatives) were named as participants in the PDAF scam.
Notably, the Inquirer named Bong Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Bongbong Marcos and Gregorio Honasan as the five senators who participated in the scam.
[24] Revilla and Marcos have also claimed that the investigation into the scam is politically motivated, saying that Malacañang is out to discredit potential candidates for the 2016 presidential election who are not allied with President Aquino: a charge that the administration denies.
[26] On August 16, 2013, the Commission on Audit released the results of a three-year investigation into the use of legislators' PDAF and other discretionary funds during the last three years of the Arroyo administration.
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum, both past and present, were cited in the report, some of whom (such as Edgardo Angara, Ruffy Biazon, Neptali Gonzales II and Niel Tupas, Jr.) are closely related to President Aquino.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, for example, was accused by Merlina Suñas, Luy's fellow whistleblower, of being complicit in the scam, as his department was responsible for transferring at least ₱16 million in PDAF funds to livelihood projects managed by an NGO linked to Napoles.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer claims it received a hard drive containing all transactions of Napoles, Luy and other JLN Corporation agents from the accused politicians.
[39] The next day, President Aquino ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct and "extensive and fair probe" of the scam,[40] which Napoles also asked for on July 27.
[44] However, following the release of the CoA report which implicated more legislators in the scam, the Senate eventually agreed to conduct its own investigation, which would be led by its Blue Ribbon Committee.
The president gave the DILG secretary Mar Roxas and PNP director Gen. Alan Purisima custody over Napoles for booking and processing.
[49] The NBI and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima filed the cases of plunder and malversation of public funds against businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and five former representatives on September 16.
[50] On November 19, 2013, through the landmark ruling in Belgica vs. Ochoa,[51] the Supreme Court of the Philippines en banc declared PDAF as unconstitutional.
[54] The Ombudsman filed charges against senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court in June 2014.
Enrile's former aide Gigi Reyes was charged with plunder for facilitating the allocation of pork barrel funds to bogus foundations.
The convicted officials made irregular disbursements of ₱51 million from the pork barrel funds of Misamis Occidental Rep. Marina Clarete.