De Lima on Gigi Reyes: Let’s wait and see

Jessica “Gigi” Reyes INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Justice (DOJ) is maintaining a wait-and-see attitude on the reason behind the return of Atty. Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, former chief of staff of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

Reyes, together with Enrile, senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and several others have been accused of plunder in connection with the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that as far as they are concerned, Reyes is one of the principal players in the multi-billion scam and that it is up to the Office of the Ombudsman if she wants to become a state witness or not.

“I’m not aware that she is returning but I’m not surprised at all. I don’t think she could stay out of the country indefinitely. It’s not easy for such personalities to be “on the run,” so to speak, or live in obscurity,” De Lima said in a text message to reporters.

“In any case, what’s her real agenda in coming back at this stage remains to be seen. Maybe it’s out of necessity because she felt she has run out of options or out of self-preservation,” de Lima said.

“Let’s just wait and see. As far as the DOJ and the NBI is concerned, she remains to be one of the principal players-respondents in the PDAF cases who has been rightfully indicted for plunder and other graft cases for her remarkable role vis-à-vis JPE’s (Enrile’s initials) PDAF,” she added.

Reyes arrived before dawn Saturday on a Philippine Air Lines flight from San Francisco, USA eight months after she left the country.

At the same time, De Lima said she does not see adverse impact on the plunder cases filed against the respondents in the scam adding that “she must face those charges and be dealt with by our justice system.”

“If she comes clean, then it can only bolster or strengthen our cases. But as to whether she would do it only as a state witness or, more pointedly, whether she can qualify at all at a state witness, is another matter. To me it’s a big question mark. But then again, the decision lies with the Ombudsman,” she added.