Republic of the PhilippinesSenate, Pasay City

Senator Miriam Defensor SantiagoChair, Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws, Committee on Foreign Relations,

Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Automated Election System, Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Overseas Absentee Voting Act;Select Oversight Committee on Government Procurement, Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement;

Member, Commission on Appointments

URGENT AND PERSONAL!

4 February 2014

Secretary Leila de Lima

Department of Justice

By fax and by hand

Dear Secretary de Lima:

This refers to the presumably ongoing DOJ investigation on the apparent web of

corruption and criminality woven by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, which I outlined in a

privilege speech earlier.

I humbly submit that it would certainly be productive to investigate the use of the

names of his chief of staff – Atty. Jessica Lucilla “Gigi” Reyes – and her family in the

disbursement of some P5.101 billion in public funds. Enrile was able to insert this

humongous amount in the budget for the Cagayan Freeport for the last five years. It

appears that Enrile used their names to surreptitiously morph the Freeport into the main

vehicle for smuggling and other illicit operations, which I outline below.

Port Irene – described as “the backbone of the Freeport” – consumed the amount

of P5.101 billion in public funds for the construction of a breakwater. The builder was

Sta. Elena Construction, headed by Alice Eduardo as president and CEO. But Eduardo is

also president of Sta. Fe Builders, which shares an office with Sta. Elena Construction at

1625 Leon Guinto St., Manila.

Here, certain details betray Enrile’s hand. The Sta. Fe Builders board of directors

includes Gigi’s family. Her brother, Neal Jose O. Gonzales, is board chair; and her

mother, Maria O. Cooper, is a board member and one of the directors. That is Enrile’s

thumbprint right there. The family of his chief of staff are board members of Sta. Fe

Builders, which in turn is listed among the directors and officers of a Reyes family

corporation, MGNP. Suspiciously, Sta. Fe Builders was removed only two months later

from the list of board directors.

Thus, it appears that Enrile has used the names of his chief of staff and her

family to mask his immense personal financial interests, not only in Sta. Fe Builders, but

also in Sta. Elena Construction. The latter apparently served as conduit for the P5.101

billion that the government spent for the breakwater of Port Irene, basically Enrile’s

brainchild when he served as representative.

Further, it appears that Alice Eduardo – all the while pursuing her financial

relationship with Enrile – runs the construction firm which has built foundation works for

such huge projects as: Pagcor Entertainment City; North Luzon Expressway; SM

projects, including the Mall of Asia; four power plants; several traffic interchanges; and

several bridge and flood control projects. More recently, Eduardo reportedly became one

of the Filipino partners of Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada.

If Enrile is inexplicably linked to Eduardo, the logical question follows: Is

Eduardo a front woman for Enrile’s business interests? If not, why did Enrile entrust to

her a project in his home base, the Cagayan Freeport, with a budget costing the

government P5.101 billion?

Based on these facts, I respectfully request that the DOJ investigating panel should

pursue this angle. Thank you.

MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO

Copy to:

Senate Media

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