Protest welcomes Napoles at Senate hearing
‘PORK’ PROTEST Mae Paner aka “Juana Change” appears in a wheelchair as Janet Napoles Bariles during a “pork” protest Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, at the Senate where the real Janet Napoles is testifying before the blue ribbon committee on allegations that she masterminded the P10 billion pork barrel scam. JAMIE ELONA/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Around 200 members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and the Abolish Pork Movement marched to the Senate gates Thursday only to realize that Janet Lim-Napoles, the principal accused in the P10 billion pork barrel scam, made it inside the building without being noticed.
“We were here early because wanted to get a glimpse of the convoy for Napoles to see that people were protesting outside. But we were ‘decoyed,'” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes.
Napoles, who appeared at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, was escorted by the police convoy from her detention facility at the Fort Sto Domingo in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.
Two convoys, each composed of at least six vehicles, left Laguna separately with a five-minute interval around 8:55 a.m. for the 10 a.m. hearing.
“Someone told us she was already inside around 9:30 a.m.,” Reyes said.
The protesters made it close to Gate 1 but were barred by a police dispersal team from entering the Senate compound. Even so, they had their own “Janet Bariles Napoles” in the person of political satirist Mae Paner.
Paner came in a “prison orange” suit under a bulletproof vest and wore on her head a barrel marked with the words: Pork Barrel Queen.”
She also sat on a wheelchair while some protesters threw her questions like, who her best friend in the Senate was supposed to be, in a short skit.
“Aside from the (scrapping of the) PDAF and DAP, we also wanted the senators to know that the people do not want this to turn into a political circus,” Reyes said, referring to the ongoing investigation.
The protesters left around 11:05 a.m. but Reyes, in a phone interview, said they were remotely monitoring the hearing.
“So far nothing has been squeezed out. There are no confirmations but only denials,” he said.
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