Ex-employees not surprised by Napoles’ answers in Senate

Janet Lim-Napoles: ‘Pitiful’. Photo by RICHARD REYES

MANILA, Philippines—Janet Lim-Napoles was as impregnable as the black bulletproof vest she wore over a green long-sleeved blouse.

The 50-year-old businesswoman, her hair brushed back and held in a pony tail, sat stony faced, calm, frowning most of the time as she spewed non-answers to her interrogators at Thursday’s hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee.

“I was not surprised that she lied, maybe because she was still hoping that her so-called connections could help her be acquitted later on,” Benhur Luy, her former aide and the principal state witness against her, told the Inquirer in an interview on the sidelines of the proceedings.

Napoles, who once reportedly bragged to her staff at the JLN Group of Companies that she controlled the government, did not have eye contact with Luy and the other whistle-blowers, all former employees.

“I prayed she would be enlightened and decide to tell the truth but her old self prevailed and she went on to lie again,” Luy said.

Levito Baligod, counsel for the whistle-blowers, described Thursday’s proceedings as a positive development for his clients.

“The answers of Napoles cemented the testimony of the whistle-blowers,” Baligod said. “She was not able to refute any of the documents and testimonies. It bolstered the whistle-blowers’ credibility,” he said.

Gertrudes Luy, the mother of Benhur and a longtime nanny of Napoles’ children, said Napoles glanced at her former employees as she entered the session hall. “She did not look us in the eye,” she said. “I really looked at her all the time to force her to look at me because I’d like to tell her, ‘You wronged us.’”

From Napoles’ demeanor, Gertrudes said she knew that her former employer was angry. “At the same time, she looked like she would burst into tears any time. Sometimes I pitied her,” she said.

Benhur’s mother said she thought Napoles was not listening when Benhur was giving the details of the alleged kickbacks given to the lawmakers.

“We expected her reaction because it’s in her character to lie; it came as no surprise,” said Marina Sula, another longtime employee of Napoles.

Sula was reprimanded by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago for smiling at Rene Villa, a former Napoles lawyer who was appointed by President Aquino in January as chair of the Local Water Utilities Administration.

“She smiled because she caught Rene Villa’s eye and nodded at her,” Sula’s lawyer, Lourdes Benipayo, explained.

Benhur’s sister Annabelle said she thought Napoles looked different. “She had a scowl. Her face looked swollen.”

She couldn’t tell if it was because of all her lying.

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