Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada said he is willing to undergo a lie detector test along with the whistleblowers of the P10 billion “pork barrel” funds scam.
“Anytime, even now,” Estrada told reporters when asked if he was willing to undergo the test with the new whistleblower, Dennis Cunanan.
“Everyone, including the whistleblowers. We should all do it together, including Mrs. Tuason, so we’ll immediately know the results,” he said, referring to Ruby Tuason, his co-accused in the plunder case at the Office of the Ombudsman, who turned against him.
Estrada said he might also consider attending the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee next week and face Cunanan, who claimed that they had talked over the phone when he was following up the release of his “pork barrel” funds to organizations linked to Janet Lim-Napoles.
“Tingnan natin (Let’s see). That might be interesting,” he said when asked if he would attend the hearing but added that he has yet to consult his lawyers.
The senator reiterated that he did not know Cunanan and that he had never spoken to him on the phone.
Even Cunanan, he said, did not mention about his alleged phone conversations with him or any other senators being dragged into the pork scam, when he first appeared in the Senate hearing.
Asked then if he also suspects that somebody from the administration could be behind Cunanan’s decision to turn against him, Estrada said: “The probability is high.”
“I am inclined to believe already that there are some political foes who are really talking to these witnesses to really pin us down. Imagine a phone call, is that a crime already? Is that the basis for him to be accepted in the Witness Protection Program?” the senator asked.
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