Detained Sen. Leila de Lima (left) and alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles (right) (File photos from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Detained Sen. Leila de Lima, who led the filing of charges against Janet Lim-Napoles when she was justice secretary, said the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind would be an unreliable state witness who would say and do anything she is told.
“This is why she was never seriously considered as a state witness by the Aquino administration,” De Lima said in a dispatch on Saturday from her detention cell at Camp Crame.
“Her first question to us then was, ‘Sino ba ang gusto ninyong isama (Who do you want to include in the charges)?’” De Lima said.
She likened Napoles to a karaoke club regular, “who will sing anything she is asked to.”
“It became clear to us then that just like any thief, Napoles will say anything to get herself off the hook,” De Lima said.
Napoles is facing multiple plunder, graft and malversation charges for conspiring with lawmakers in the P10-billion pork barrel scam. She allegedly set up bogus organizations as beneficiaries of the Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations of several members of Congress in exchange for kickbacks.
In what could be a prelude to her turning state witness, she was admitted into the witness protection program (WPP) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Feb. 27.
On Friday, she asked the Sandiganbayan to transfer her to the DOJ’s custody from her detention cell in Bicutan, citing threats to her life.
Palace denies role
Malacañang on Saturday washed its hands of any role in the DOJ’s move.
“We leave that to DOJ since there’s a law providing guidelines on admission” into the WPP, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said, adding there was “no need” for the President to be informed beforehand.
Under Republic Act No. 6981, or the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, persons admitted into the program are entitled to a number of privileges, such as housing, travel expenses and subsistence allowance.
In the case of Napoles, she will enjoy “immunity from criminal prosecution for the very offenses she herself hatched and instigated,” according to Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.
The law sets conditions on persons granted witness protection: The offenses they would testify to are grave felonies; their testimony could be substantially corroborated; there are threats to their lives or to their family members; and they are not law enforcement officers.
As the alleged scam mastermind, Napoles does not meet these conditions, Lagman said.
De Lima said Napoles would be the “ideal witness” against critics and dissenters who would “parrot anything, just like the Bilibid drug inmates used by Duterte and Aguirre against me.”
She said Aguirre was “perfect for this kind of criminal and corrupt government, and for a criminal and corrupt President.”
“In the meantime, we just have to forget about justice altogether, while the DOJ is still run by criminals, and while Malacañang is still occupied by a gangster,” she said.
Lagman said there was no ground to absolve Napoles.
“The liberation of Napoles as the principal accused in the ‘mother of all scams’ in order to be awarded a stellar role as state witness is a mockery of the justice system,” he said.
The benefits and privileges for witnesses under the WPP include a secure residence, assistance in gaining a means of livelihood and job security, if they are employed.
They are also given travelling expenses, subsistence allowance in amounts that the DOJ may set, free medical treatment and hospitalization, and free education for their children if they die.