Senate blue ribbon panel issues subpoena orders on Napoles

The Senate blue ribbon committee today ordered the issuance of subpoena on Ms. Janet Napoles, the second largest supplier of fertilizer in the Department of Agriculture's P728-million fertilizer project, to appear before the panel and submit documents pertinent to the investigation.

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee chair, issued the order during the panel's hearing, saying that Napoles' testimony is important for the panel's probe to determine the overpriced amount and ghost deliveries involved in the anomalous project.

"I would like to call Ms. Janet Napoles, who is one of the suppliers, to appear before the committee in the next hearing," he said, noting that Napoles is the second largest supplier of fertilizer in the DA project.

Gordon added that the other suppliers of fertilizers in the DA project are also invited to attend the committee's succeeding hearings to finally uncover how much of the government's funds were actually used for the project and how much went to other people's pockets.

Present during the committee's fifth hearing are Julie Gregorio and Reden Antolin, president and vice-president of Feshan Philippines Inc., the largest supplier in the fertilizer project.

Gregorio had said that only P50 million was paid to them, but the report of the Commission on Audit shows that P105 million was paid to Feshan for the fertilizers.