Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – A whistle-blowers’ group dared Justice Secretary Leila De Lima to release Janet Lim-Napoles’ list of lawmakers who benefited in the pork barrel scam, Inquirer Radio 990AM reported on Friday.
The report quoted Whistle-blowers Association of the Philippines President Sandra Cam as saying they would plead for a writ of mandamus from the Supreme Court next week to compel De Lima to bare the list.
Cam, in the report, said they wanted to compare De Lima’s list with their own of scam beneficiaries, which they obtained from a reliable source.
The group hit De Lima for refusing to release the list over fears that it might cause “mayhem” due to its sensitive content. De Lima said the list should be verified first before being released.
De Lima, for her part, criticized groups for claiming to have lists that just sow “confusion.”
Napoles’ camp has claimed her list would implicate both opposition and administration allies.
The pork barrel scam is an elaborate scheme of diverting the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) through Napoles’ organizations, only to be poured to ghost projects for kickbacks. The Ombudsman has found probable cause to file plunder and graft charges against senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and several others over their alleged involvement in the scam.
Napoles has been charged for illegal detention of Benhur Luy, one of the whistle-blowers in the pork barrel scam.
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