Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Janet Lim-Napoles may not be compelled yet to execute her testimony on the “pork barrel” scam as she was being held for other crime, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said on Tuesday.
“Desisyon ng abogado nya yun. Hindi pwedeng ma-compel na kunan sya ng tesimonya sa ngayon lalo na kaugnay sa PDAF scam dahil yung kasong pending sa kanya ay kaugnay lamang ng illegal detention, at hindi naman tungkol sa PDAF scam,” said Escudero, who initiated the Senate probe on the pork scam.
(It’s the decision of her lawyer. She can’t be compelled to give her testimony now, especially on PDAF scam because the case pending against her is only about illegal detention and not about the PDAF scam.)
PDAF stands for the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the official name of the pork barrel, which finances pet projects of lawmakers.
“Kung nais nyang mag-execute ng statement, voluntary decision nya yun at decision nilang mag abogado—noong kliyente at abogado,” said the senator.
(If she wants to execute a statement, it should be voluntary and the decision of both her and her lawyer).
Last Monday, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago suggested that Napoles should avail herself of a procedure called “perpetuation of testimony under the Rules of Court aimed to preserve “for future use any witness testimony that might otherwise be unavailable at trial.”
Santiago, who has been on sick leave, said the procedure is part of what the Rules of Court call “deposition and discovery,” which is intended to take place before trial, in order to assure that the evidence will be preserved when trial begins, even if something happens to the witness.
A deposition, she said, will consist of Napoles’ written testimony that is given in writing outside of the court.
“Any adverse event could prevent Napoles from fully identifying the senators and congressmen with whom she had PDAF transactions. For example, any of the suspects could hire operatives to silence her, or she might inflict physical damage on herself. She might contract a life-threatening ailment. For any of these reasons, the Rules of Court allows her to give her testimony well before trial,” she said in a statement Monday.
“If Napoles decides to perpetuate her testimony in order to reduce the level of threats to her security, she has to file a verified petition in court,” the senator added.