Politics may be the reason behind the persistent accusations of pork barrel corruption leveled against him, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Secretary Emmanuel Joel Villanueva said.
In a visit to Cebu City last Saturday, Villanueva told reporters that he didn’t benefit from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) aid given to bogus nongovernment organizations (NGOs).
There were reports that an allocation of P1.3 million and P3 million from the PDAF issued to Villanueva’s office and coursed to the Technology Resource and Livelihood Center (TLRC) in Nov. 2007.
Villanueva was then partylist representative under the Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) group. From the TLRC, the funds were channeled to one of the bogus NGOs operated by Napoles’ staff.
“Despite the fact it was all liquidated, I wrote a letter to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) requesting an investigation. There were no wrongdoings and kickbacks found. Janet Napoles, and Dennis Cunanan never mentioned my name,” Villanueva said.