Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Senators have started “informal” discussions on the possibility of granting immunity to Janet Lim-Napoles but only on the testimony that she would give to the Senate on the P10 billion “pork barrel” scam, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said.
“Well, pinag-uusapan naming mga senador iyan informally (Well, the senators are discussing that informally),” Cayetano said in a recent interview in the Senate. “Definitely, there should be a definition of terms first.”
“Ang immunity na pwedeng ibigay lang ng Senado ay iyong immunity na kasuhan siya base sa sinabi niya sa Senado (The only immunity that the Senate can give is the immunity from suit based on what she would say here in the Senate),” he said.
It means that the evidence and charges against Napoles, Cayetano said, will not go away even if she’s granted immunity by the Senate.
“Hindi katulad ng sa Amerika na kapag sinabi ng Atty General na ‘I’m giving you immunity,’ e hindi mo na pwedeng kasuhan (It’s not like in America that when the Atty General says ‘I’m giving you immunity,’ then you can no longer be charged),” he said.
“Ang sinasabi ng mga senador, halimbawa, ayaw kong magsalita kasi ma-iincriminate ko ang sarili ko, sasabihin lang sa kanya ay ‘E paano kung bibigyan ka namin ng immunity? Magtuturo ka na ba?’ (What the senators are saying is that for example, I don’t want to talk because I don’t want to incriminate myself. Then they would say: ‘What if we give you immunity? Are you going to talk now?’)”
Cayetano said he himself is still studying whether or not to immediately grant Napoles an immunity as it would set a precedent in the chamber.
And before granting Napoles’ immunity, he said he would also like to know first whether her testimony would still be needed in the investigation
“Kasi kumpleto naman tayo sa whistleblowers e. Usually, nagbibigay tayo ng immunity under the conditions na hindi siya ang pinaka guilty, at pangalawa, wala ka nang ibang ebidensya na makuha (We have whistleblowers. Usually, we give immunity under the conditions that he or she is the least guilty, and secondly, there are no other pieces of evidence we can get),” he said.
Cayetano believes that Napoles was the most guilty in the scam and he doubts whether or not she would still tell the truth.
“Ako po, masusi kong pinag-aaralan iyong transactional immunity na tinatawag based dun sa sinabi niya sa Senado (As for me, I carefully study what is considered as transactional immunity based on what she tells the Senate),” he said.
“Paano kung sinabi niya sa labas pero inulit nya sa Senado? Baka magkaroon pa ng rason ang judge na harangan ang pagdalo nya (What if she told something she has already said outside of the Senate? There might even be a reason for the judge to prevent her from attending the Senate hearing),” the senator added.
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