Pork barrel scam “queen” Janet Lim Napoles is now under the Witness Protection Programme (WPP) of the Department of Justice (DoJ), after submitting a new affidavit that could point to other personalities liable for the misuse of P10bn in public funds.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd made the admission, saying Napoles was placed under provisional coverage as a possible state witness.
“We confirm that Janet L Napoles has been placed under Provisional Admission of WPP subject to affidavit she submitted which is now undergoing assessment,” Aguirre said in a statement.
However, the Justice chief clarified that “as of the moment, physically she is not under WPP due to provisional status of admission. If requested by subject (Napoles) we can provide additional security and as warranted, address medical needs.”
Napoles’ switch to state witness from prime suspect was uncovered after her lawyer asked three divisions of the Sandiganbayan to transfer her from Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City to the WPP.
The transfer of custody has to be approved by the anti-graft court.
Napoles is facing a P224mn plunder case before the Sandiganbayan’s First Division along with former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr and other individuals in connection with the pork barrel scam.
Napoles is also an accused in the P172mn plunder case filed against former senator Juan Ponce Enrile, pending before the Third Division; and in the P183mn plunder case filed against former senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, pending before the Fifth Division.
Reacting to Napoles’ admission to the WPP, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said: “It has no effect on the cases under trial in court.”
To recall, the DoJ had formed a new panel of prosecutors to conduct a probe not only into the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam, but also into the Disbursement Acceleration Programme anomaly of the Aquino administration.
This was supposedly the result of “new evidence discovered and presented.”
Aguirre tapped Undersecretary Antonio Kho to lead the task force.
President Rodrigo Duterte himself had slammed the now detained Sen. Leila de Lima, the Justice secretary of the Aquino government, for “selective prosecution” in the PDAF investigation.
Aguirre had said that aside from De Lima, three allies of former president Benigno Aquino would soon be in “hot water,” including top aide Florencio “Butch” Abad and Senator Antonio Trillanes.
Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, a member of the erstwhile ruling Liberal Party, claimed Napoles “will target Butch Abad, Mar Roxas and Frank Drilon, while (broadcaster) Ted Failon will go after former President Aquino, Mar and Butch on the issue of housing.”
Drilon is the leader of the Senate minority. Abad served as budget secretary during the Aquino administration, while Roxas served as secretary of transportation and interior and local government.
Senators yesterday crossed party lines in denouncing the move of the DoJ to place Napoles under the WPP. “What an unbelievable, crazy development,” Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel said.
“Do some people in the DoJ really believe that Janet Lim Napoles is qualified to be a state witness in the PDAF scam which she herself invented, organised and perpetuated?” Pimentel said in a text message.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said he was “disturbed and dismayed” by the news. “This is a setback in our fight against corruption and the pork barrel system.”
“I am not prepared to accept the idea that Napoles is the least guilty in the PDAF scam. Napoles rigged the system in order to enrich herself and others at the expense of the public,” he said.
He added, “This is the latest in a string of questionable decisions and actions by the justice department, which in my opinion, undermine the success of this administration in its relentless war against drugs and corruption.”
Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino said the president should put his house in order. “(Justice) Secretary (Vitaliano) Aguirre should resign to give way to a credible and capable justice secretary,” he said. “We’d like to remind the DoJ that their mandate is to enact justice for the Filipino people, not to protect drug lords and criminal masterminds,” Aquino said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the Duterte government’s decision to turn Napoles into a state witness was a “travesty of justice.” She added: “This is expected, however.”
“After all, this is the same government that used the testimonies of convicted and self-confessed drug lords (who have everything to gain and nothing to lose) to intimidate and unjustly incarcerate one of the leading figures of the political opposition,” she said referring to fellow opposition senator Leila
de Lima.
Janet Lim-Napoles: new twist to trial
