“Let a woman in your life, / And you
invite eternal strife,” That’s lifted from a song
in the 1956 Broadway smash hit: “My Fair Lady”. Prof. Henry Higgins
gives speech lessons to Eliza Doolittle,
a Cockney flower girl, so she
could masquerade as a well-born lady.
So, did then Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile
invite conflict in his choice of Atty. Jessica Lucila
"Gigi" Reyes to serve as his chief of staff? She quit
after a controversy erupted over Christmas bonuses handed out to senators
by Enrile.
Since then, Sen. Miriam Santiago urged the Justice
Department Secretary to look into use of the names of Reyes—and her
family in disbursement of P5.1 billion in public funds “into the Cagayan
Freeport and breakwater project in Port Irene—Enrile’s home turf.
The project “was awarded to Sta. Elena Construction with links
to Sta. Ana Builders where the board of directors include Reyes’
family. Neal Jose Gonzales, Ms Gigi’s brother is chairman of
Sta. Fe Builders. Reyes’ mother is Maria Cooper who is a board
member. Clearly, this “shows Enrile’s thumbprint,” Santiago asserts.
Enrile scoffed at claims he is “romantically linked” to Reyes.
That’d have been fine—if he ended there. Instead, Enrile pandered to the
macho crowd. May asim pa, the 89-year old said with a wink. Loosely
translated, that means his libido is just fine, thank you. That only spurred
the rumor mills.
Secretary De Lima transmitted Santiago’s charge to a joint
NBI and Justice fact-finding team. It is led by Justice Undersecretary Jose
Justiniano.
Sorry. But Ms Gigi won’t be there for the probe. She stopped
answering her phone after quitting. And she flew to Macau, alone with two bags,
on Cebu Pacific flight 5J362. Bureau of Immigration records show. She
had a return flight booked two days later. But she vanished and didn’t
leave a forwarding address. The chiefs of staff of some senators suddenly took
leave, too.
Isn’t that a reprise of the Dec. 14, 2000, hearing of
the impeachment case against President Joseph Estrada? Witness Maria
Carmencita Itchon testified that she checked jueteng
collections. The P6-million batches came from Jinggoy Estrada, known “Jingle
Bells,” witnesses told the Senate. These were handed to
Erap’s accountant-auditor: Yolanda Ricaforte—who has since fled the country.
Was it just happenstance that by then, the 10th whistle-blower
surfaced and admitted: He drove a Napoles courier and saw him ladle bundles of
cash, from a duffel bag, in front of “Attorney Gigi.” Cash boodles were
unloaded in Reyes’ residence, between 2009 and 2011, Merlina Sunas alleged.
“There was no one else in the living room… I stood at the door and from there I
could see.”
"Ang porsiyento naman ni Atty. Gigi Reyes ay pinapadala ni
Madame Jenny kay Fernando Ramirez o kay John Raymund de Asis sa bahay ni Atty.
Reyes mismo." [The commission of Atty. Gigi Reyes was given by Madame
Jenny (Napoles) to Fernando Ramirez or John Raymund de Asis to be delivered to
the house of Atty. Reyes herself.]
Which residence? Investigative reporter Chay Hofilena has documented that
by 2012, Reyes’ real estate property acquisitions totalled about P50.86
million. These are reflected in her Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
“These covered 10 residential properties, including two houses
in Matuod, Lian, Batangas and the house and lot in La Vista. Of the 10 listed
items four are lots all located in Matuod, Lian, Batangas. The 10 real property
assets are identical to her listing in 2011, Hofilena asked: How did Reyes
do that with a salary of just over a million pesos a year?
In 2010, she built a house also in Batangas worth P1.5
million. Basta? No sir. She then bought a residential
condominium unit and parking space at Fairways Towers in Taguig worth P6.45
million.
In 2011, she had a net worth of P29.36 million “(That
was) more than double her net worth in 2004, which is Reyes’ earliest SALN
on record with the Civil Service Commission.
In 2004, when she was already Enrile’s chief of staff, Reyes had
a net worth of P12.8 million and two properties: a house and lot in La Vista
bought for P2.5 million in 2002, and a residential lot in South Ridge
Subdivision in Tagaytay worth P1.4 million.
“Besides the vehicles and her P3-million time deposit, the next
big item in her personal properties list for 2012 was jewelry worth P3
million,” Hofilena wrote. “Among her weaknesses, said those who know her, are
jewelry and designer bags.”
Reyes was also acknowledged to be influential. Long-time
employees at the Senate said that when Enrile was Senate president and she was
chief of staff, permanent positions needed her approval. "Kung hindi ka
malakas, hindi mo makukuha ang position," one former employee said. [If
you were not favored by her, you wouldn't get the position.]
Ms Gigi reacted when Enrile's lawyer Enrique dela Cruz said the
Senate president “never authorized anyone to enter into an illegal transaction.
If they did, they should be held responsible.” On Facebook she
snapped: “the worst blow has just been dealt upon me by no less than
the camp of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, the man I served with full dedication,
honesty and loyalty for 25 years.”
“I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be
drilling / Than to ever let a woman in my life,” Professor Higgins
sang in “My Fair Lady”.
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