Napoles bragged TRO would stop probe, court told

Janet Lim-Napoles. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A former aide of detained Janet Lim-Napoles on Friday said her former boss had bragged to her that the court would block the government’s investigation into the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

Continuing her testimony in the Sandiganbayan, whistle-blower Marina Sula on Friday said Napoles had tried to dissuade her from participating in the probe being conducted by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of several lawmakers.

Sula looked calm as she admitted to the antigraft court’s Third Division her participation in the web of deception allegedly drawn up by Napoles to funnel billions of pesos in public funds into the fake nongovernment organizations Napoles had created.

She also presented to the three-member court a red notebook where she recorded the details of the errands she made for Napoles and her family, including information of the credit cards of her erstwhile employer.

Quizzed by Associate Justice Samuel Martires, the witness said she decided to spill the beans against Napoles after she received a summon from the NBI regarding its investigation into the PDAF scam.

Sula said Napoles phoned her sometime in August 2013 while she was at the conference room of the Department of Justice in Manila and urged her not to abandon her.