Napoles, not De Lima, should bare list; House minority backs move to probe scam

Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora

MANILA, Philippines—The minority bloc in the House of Representatives backed the move to invite Janet Lim-Napoles to the chamber for a probe into the pork barrel scam.

Minority leader Ronaldo Zamora said an inquiry would even be a good venue for Napoles to present her list of scam beneficiaries.

“If she were to appear as witness, why not? The whole objective is to get to the truth,” Zamora said.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima refused to release Napoles’ list as it might cause “mayhem.”

“The best thing to do is really just to show it and let (those on the list) to defend themselves,” Zamora said.

He added though that the list should not be sanitized.

Former justice secretary and 1-BAP Rep. Silvestre Bello III added that it should be Napoles and not De Lima who should bare the list.

Bello added though that the list should be signed and sworn as an affidavit before it is released.

On Tuesday, Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco filed a resolution urging the chamber to compel De Lima to release the list.

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