Bayan scoffs at Napoles as a gov’t witness, hits gov’t

A militant group accused the government on Sunday of not being serious in battling corruption in the country.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. made the remark after the Department of Justice (DOJ) temporarily placed Janet Lim Napoles under the Witness Protection Program (WPP).

READ: Napoles now under provisional WPP coverage

Provisional coverage only allows additional security and medical attention for her, the DOJ explained.

On March 16, her lawyer Stephen David, filed an urgent motion before the Sandiganbayan and claimed that “there are already manifestations of threat, intimidation and harassment” against her.

READ: Napoles, pork barrel scam ‘brains,’ gets gov’t protection

She has issued an affidavit that reportedly implicates three more senators and two former executive officials to the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam.

However, Reyes said, “The Duterte regime is not serious in exacting accountability for pork barrel corruption and may simply repeat what the past administration did to political foes.”

According to him, the issue on the pork barrel system is still “alive and well” in the Congress.

This, Reyes said, proved that the Duterte administration was not serious in stopping corruption.

“The pork barrel system is alive and well in Congress, through various informal means. This remains a potential source of corruption and patronage,” he said.

Duterte has fired some of his appointees in government amid suspicion of corruption and has ordered the creation of a hotline where the public could report public officials and employees engaged in graft. /cbb