MANILA - House Higher Education Committee Chair Roman Romulo kept his distance from Janet Lim Napoles after the publication of a picture with Napoles as a guest in his wedding to Shalani Soledad January last year.
In a statement, Romulo maintained disbursements from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) are above board.
"I take pride in the way my congressional office has cleanly endorsed all my Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations in favor of legitimate projects and programs in my district. Everybody is also free to check the Department of Budget and Management website, and see for themselves all the particulars of my PDAF allotments. My office has also never been mentioned in any adverse audit report," he said.
Romulo was responding to a front page photo published in The Philippine Star on Aug. 27. It was a file photo of Romulo and Shalani Soledad, together with their 22 wedding sponsors that included Janet Napoles, more than a year ago.
According to the Romulo, Soledad met Napoles through showbiz circles while she and Romulo were still dating.
"The relationship with her was only social, nothing more," he said.
Romulo's office emphasized that no PDAF money has gone to any of the NGOs identified with Ms. Napoles through his office.
Romulo stressed that the focus should be the real issue: the abuse and misuse of the PDAF by alleged public officials through fake NGOs and ghost projects.
