Villar surprised at Tuason-Napoles connection

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

Senator Cynthia Villar. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Ruby Tuason’s “connections” with alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles have caught Senator Cynthia Villar by surprise.

“Actually, yung mga Napoles connection nya, I was so surprised. Hindi ko alam yun,” Villar said in an interview on Wednesday.

“Kilala ko sya as a friend. Alam mo si Ruby is well known naman sa circle sa Manila. Marami kaming magkakaibigan, marami naman akong kaibigan, one of them sya. Hindi ko alam yung kanyang Napoles connection,” she said.

Last week, Villar admitted that she had met and dined at Tuason’s “Malampaya Mansion” in Makati but said it was “purely social.”

It was Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada who mentioned about a senator, who was with him when he went to Tuason’s house in Makati. He did not name the senator but Villar immediately admitted that she is the one being referred to by Estrada.

Both Estrada and Tuason have been charged at the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Napoles.

Whether Estrada’s mention of the incident had malice or not was something that Villar was not concerned at all.

“I don’t know kung may malice yun or what. I’m not concerned. It’s just a dinner, a social dinner. I don’t find anything wrong with that. Even though (there is) malice or not, I don’t care. I have nothing to hide,” Villar added.