Pork barrel scam suspect Ruby Tuason arrives in PH

Ruby Tuason FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—An early morning radio report on Friday said Ruby Tuason, one of those charged in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam and who is to turn state witness, had arrived in the country.

Tuason arrived around 3:45 a.m. Friday amid heavy security, said her lawyer, Dennis Manalo, in a television interview.

Earlier, the Philippine Daily Inquirer in its Feb.7, 2014, issue reported that Tuason—the former social secretary of former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada—was to return to the Philippines on Friday to testify against the perpetrators of the pork scam allegedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

Tuason was among those named by whistle-blowers as involved in the scam.

Manalo, in a statement, said his client had applied for and been admitted to the Witness Protection Program of the DOJ. The full statement is posted in the newsstory “Ruby Tuason to tell all in Napoles scam.”

“She is committed to testify before the appropriate agencies or courts that will investigate or hear these cases,” Manalo said.

In September last year, Tuason was reported to have left the Philippines on Aug. 26, the same day that the so-called Million People March organized by netizens to call for the abolition of the pork barrel took place in Manila’s Rizal Park.—Rick Alberto

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