Guingona to Napoles: ‘Come clean’ and ‘speak the truth’

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Teofisto Guingona III is hoping that Janet Lim-Napoles would bare all when she appears and testifies at the Senate on November 7.

“On November 7, Mrs. Napoles will be given the opportunity to come clean and speak the truth. The Filipino people will be watching. We will be ready,” Guingona, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said in a statement Tuesday.

The senator made this assurance as he lauded the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court Monday, allowing Napoles to appear at the Senate investigation into the P10-billion “pork barrel” fraud that she allegedly masterminded.

“We laud the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Elmo Alameda in upholding the co-equal and coordinating powers of the Legislature and the Judiciary in their pursuit of the truth,” Guingona said.

“With the court’s order for Janet Lim-Napoles to appear before the Senate blue ribbon committee, we are now much closer to completing the whole story on the abuses done with the Priority Development Assistance Fund,” he added.

Guingona also assured the public that the Senate investigation on the issue would not turn into a “circus” when Napoles takes the witness stand.

“Nakikita mo naman the way I conduct hearings, it has never turned into a circus. As long as it is under my watch, it will never be a circus,” he said in a separate interview with reporters.

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