“I INVOKE my right against self-incrimination.”
These were the only words squeezed out of Janet Lim-Napoles, the suspected mastermind of the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF or better known as the pork barrel) scam, when she faced the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds in November last year.
Napoles’ testimony would have been a game changer for this dragging saga. The Senate threw her to the deep end, with hard-hitting questions to reveal the truth on her alleged collusion with lawmakers and other government officials to funnel huge sums from the PDAF.
However, Napoles remained tight-lipped throughout the grilling session.
Despite her adamance to divulge the truth, evidence (against Napoles and other principal players in the scam) have piled up since then.
Other notable witnesses took the stand and bore the truth, after rigid investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
It didn’t take long for these efforts to pay off and to expose the apparent abuse of power in the government.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the filing of plunder and graft and corruption charges against Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada, for their alleged involvement in siphoning off their pork barrel funds to bogus non-government organization (NGOs).
Napoles (the alleged mastermind), several senior staff of the senators and other names involved in the controversy are also included in the plunder cases filed before the Sandiganbayan. On that same day, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee also completed its own investigation of the PDAF scam.
“The wheels of justice are moving forward,” said Malacañang of this decision to indict major characters embroiled in the pork barrel scam.
Recently, in an unexpected turn of events, Napoles sought out Dept. of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila De Lima to finally say her piece.
De Lima confirmed that a five-hour meeting with the pork barrel mastermind transpired on Monday, April 21, before Napoles underwent surgery for a uterine myoma at Ospital ng Makati.
Fear for her life and for loved ones could have driven Napoles to come clean with the truth.
“She realized that the longer that she remains silent, the more her life remains at risk. She said that there are threats through texts, through phone calls and sometimes her family is the target,” De Lima said.
Prior to her rendezvous with De Lima, Napoles had to agree to three terms before the DOJ can entertain her plea.
First, Napoles should reveal the truth and name all parties concerned regardless of political color. Second, Napoles should only talk to the DOJ. And third, there is no guarantee that the government will make her a state witness, as the DOJ still needs to study her affidavit.
As dramatic as it was, Napoles’ sudden turnaround has no assurance that she could become a state witness. The DOJ must first validate the veracity of her testimony.
According to Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, the Office of the Ombudsman will also make a similar evaluation, but the final arbiter would be the Sandiganbayan.
After a thorough evaluation, there must be an application before the court to become a state witness and it will be up to the court to decide if Napoles can be considered as a state witness.
“Part of my commitment to her, when we talked, is that we will seriously and thoroughly evaluate her intent to be considered state witness but [there is] no deal, no commitment,” De Lima said.
De Lima said that Napoles tagged Enrile, Revilla and Estrada in the affidavit. De Lima confirmed that the names Napoles disclosed in her “tell-all” testimony, were already included in the cases filed by the Ombudsman.
Refusing to dive into details, De Lima said that Napoles divulged other information that the pork barrel scam whistleblowers were not able to disclose. Napoles also submitted “documentary evidence.”
“There will be further sessions with her. We need to get those additional facts and details,” De Lima said.
They say that the truth will set us free. Will truth afford Napoles the constitutional protections she wants in return for spilling the beans? Will she be treated as a valuable asset, instead of a perpetrator in this pork barrel saga?
Because of so much attention given to this political travail, Filipinos will soon find out.
(AJPress)
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