In a 1,500-word post uploaded yesterday, the blog Fashion Pulis writes a detailed explanation of how the likes of Janet Lim-Napoles prey on government officials with pork barrel pesos to spend. At the bottom of the food chain are agents or contractors (usually English speaking and graduates of exclusive Catholic schools for girls) who are trained by scammers like Napoles “on the technical aspects of the trade, including personality development and makeover. They are taught how to use their charms to entice and flirt with (legislators or mayors), handling rejection, to be aggressive, daring, and shameless.”
These agents will claim that they are representing NGOs and usually target first-term legislators because they are “naïve, accommodating, easily swayed.” To build and foster a relationship with their targets, the agents shower the officials with expensive gifts “like Rolex watches, Hermès or LV stuff, vacation/plane tickets, GC’s – anything…to win him over. AC’s interest is mainly [his] pork, but along the way, during the course of the transaction, her agenda is also to hint at sexual favors – regardless if [he] is married or not.”
Once the pork barrel fund is released to the official, the agent presents a photo-op with the beneficiaries of her intended livelihood program.
But the most alarming part of Fashion Pulis’ report: the halls of Congress is supposedly littered with these celebrity-looking agents. “Aware of their agenda, the Congressional wives reportedly went to the higher-ups” to ask that these ladies be banned from the premises. “However, they were told that it could not be done because Congress is a public place.”
Photo: Iloilo News Today
