Escudero wants Napoles’ transfer to regular jail

Senator Francis Escudero. INQUIRER.NET FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A senator now wants Janet Lim-Napoles to be transferred to an ordinary jail after she refused to talk about the P10 billion “pork barrel” scam in the Senate.

Senator Francis “Chiz ” Escudero, who initiated the “pork” investigation in the Senate, saw no reason why Napoles should be given a “special treatment” if she would not spill the beans on the “pork” scam.

But Escudero said Napoles would not  repeatedly invoked her right against self-incrimination when she appeared before the Senate blue ribbon committee Thursday if indeed she knew nothing about the issue.

“Alam mo gumastos PNP (Philippine National Police) ng P150, 000 para dalhin siya sa Senado.  Prinotektahan siya at may bullet proof vest pa, nakakulong pa sa Sta. Rosa, wala sa City jail dahil akala ng lahat lalo na nung sumuko siya kay Pangulong Aquino, akala ng lahat magsasalita siya sasabihin niya ang totoo,” he told ABS-CBN’s morning show “Umagang kay Ganda.”

(You know the PNP spent P150,000 to bring her to the Senate. They protected her and even gave her a bullet-proof vest. She is detained in Sta. Rosa, not in city jail, because everyone thought specially when she surrendered to  President Aquino that she would tell the truth)

“Yun pala, ganyan lang ang sasabihin niya, right against self-incrimination. Hindi ko maalala, hindi ko alam, kung ganun lang din pala bakit may special na treatment pa siya,” he said.

(Then she would just invoke her right against self-incrimination? Why give her a special treatment then?)

Escudero said it also showed that Napoles had really nothing to fear for her life if it was true that she had no knowledge about the “pork” scam as what she claimed before the committee.

“At wala palang threat sa buhay. Sino naman ang papatay sa kanya wala naman pala siyang sasabihin?” he said.

“There’s no threat to her life. Who will kill her if she has nothing to say?)

“Dapat gawin ng gobyerno para sa akin, hilingin ng DOJ, ilagay na siya sa ordinaryong piitan, huwag gastusan ang seguridad niya, tutal magde-deny lang naman siya,” the senator said.

(What the government should do is the Department of Justice should ask for (Napoles) transfer to an ordinary jail. Don’t spend for her security, she would just deny anyway.)

But Escudero clarified that he was not suggesting Napoles transfer to an ordinary jail just to force her to spill the beans on the scam.

“Para sa akin, para pantay-parehas ang trato ng mga akusado ng krimen.Yun nga nag-nakaw ng cellphone nakakulong sa ordinaryong city jail, yung nagnakaw ng bilyon e may sariling kuwarto.  Hindi naman yata tama yun,” he said.