Janet: I’m not the brains

Ping gets ‘hello Janet’ recording

MANILA, Philippines - Businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles is pointing to someone else as the mastermind of the pork barrel scam, and she is prepared to testify against this person, her lawyer said yesterday.

With someone else tagged as the brains, Napoles will no longer be considered the most guilty and she may be allowed to turn state witness.

“Her testimony would show that she is not the mastermind of the scam,” Napoles’ lawyer Bruce Rivera said. “She is not the most guilty.”

Two sources told The STAR that in the affidavit Napoles submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ), at least 10 other former and incumbent senators were implicated, including a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) led by President Aquino.

Former senator Panfilo Lacson, for his part, said that before Napoles met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima Monday night, the businesswoman had reached out to him and given him a recording of a “revealing” telephone conversation she had with a certain individual.

Lacson said the number of senators and congressmen Napoles implicated was enough to muster a quorum in both chambers of Congress.

“There are names that you wouldn’t expect to be there,” Lacson said as he disclosed that Napoles gave him a USB of incriminating documents on the scam.

De Lima assured the people yesterday that the testimony of Napoles would not be sanitized for any political reason.

“Don’t worry, because we will not remove or add names there,” she told reporters in a chance interview yesterday, reiterating that they only wanted to verify the information.

Napoles has implicated more lawmakers in the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

De Lima confirmed that apart from Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr., there were additional names mentioned by Napoles in her “tell-all” affidavit where she revealed the involvement of the lawmakers in the fund anomaly.

But the Department of Justice (DOJ) chief again refused to reveal details, reiterating there is need to first validate the information given by the controversial businesswoman.

Lawyer Rivera also revealed that his client has indeed implicated more lawmakers in the scam, but likewise begged off from further statements due to an agreement with the DOJ not to prematurely make public details of the affidavit.

“What I just can say at this point is that there are more names,” he said in a phone interview.

But both De Lima and Rivera denied reports that there were 19 additional names of senators listed in Napoles’ sworn statement.

De Lima said she would not confirm such information, which Rivera described as “misinformation.”

In some of the additional names, Napoles used codenames just as she allegedly did for the three senators already charged for plunder at the Office of the Ombudsman, according to the sources.

Whistle-blower Benhur Luy had said that Napoles used “tanda” for Enrile, “sexy” for Estrada and “pogi” for Revilla.

De Lima said the DOJ would conduct “fair and thorough” evaluation of the information given by Napoles to determine their veracity by checking on documentary evidence.

She revealed that Napoles has provided some documents and vowed to produce more proof to back up her claims.

After validation of the details in Napoles’ affidavit, De Lima said that’s the only time the DOJ would be ready to release the information to the public.

Rivera said it was made clear to them not to prematurely divulge details so as not to allow trial by publicity, which would be unfair to those implicated in the scam.

De Lima also dispelled fears that Napoles might just muddle up the cases already backed by testimonies of whistle-blowers and documentary evidence.

The DOJ chief explained that it is still premature at this point anyway to categorically decide on the credibility of Napoles.

De Lima said the reservations expressed by Luy and respondent-turned-witness Ruby Tuason through their lawyers on the credibility of Napoles as a witness could also be premature.

“Why are we pessimistic when this is all we’ve been waiting for? Who doesn’t want to hear what the most knowledgeable person in this issue has to say? Maybe those who will be harmed,” she stressed.

“What we cannot do is to ignore someone who wants to tell the truth,” she added.

De Lima said she would meet the whistle-blowers next week to personally explain to them the DOJ’s decision to accept Napoles’ offer of testimony.

“My aim is to search for the truth and determine the whole truth,” she pointed out, adding that the objective of securing conviction of those involved in the scam is only secondary when she decided to talk to Napoles upon approval of President Aquino.

Lacson said Napoles also provided a recording of her conversation with another personality, which the former senator described as “revealing.”

He said he got the impression from Napoles’ camp that she was more concerned about telling the whole truth and being state witness was a secondary concern for her.

Lacson said he met with Napoles’ husband Jimmy and their two children who approached him last March so that he could intercede on behalf of Napoles who wanted to become state witness.

Lacson said there were also personalities linked to getting kickbacks from budgetary insertions, not just the PDAF.

Napoles was also privy to misallocations of savings out of government money.

Some senators and congressmen also took kickbacks out of allocations for certain government agencies, Lacson revealed, citing details provided by Napoles in her draft affidavit.

Lacson said Napoles had provided details on the names, agents and how much each individual received in pork barrel kickbacks.

Napoles also provided details on the Special Allocation Release Order or SARO.

At one point during the meeting, Lacson said Napoles’ husband tried to contact her so they could talk directly but he declined.

Lacson said he was surprised when Napoles had approached De Lima.

He admitted that he deferred referring Napoles to either the justice department or the President because there were still “gaps” in the narration and documents given to him.

Napoles’ camp said she decided to testify since she was then scheduled to undergo biopsy procedures.

She and her family felt that Napoles needed to tell what she knows to rectify the wrongs she made in view of the pork barrel anomaly, Lacson said.

Truth quest

Malacañang is open to the possibility that Napoles might implicate not only opposition lawmakers but even allies of President Aquino in the LP-led administration coalition.

“As I said, our focus here is the quest for truth and the President has time and again said that the evidence itself must provide the direction,” said Presidential Communications Operations Office Herminio Coloma Jr.

Coloma issued the statement in the wake of unconfirmed reports that Napoles tagged 19 more senators, aside from Enrile, Estrada and Revilla who have been charged with plunder in connection with the pork barrel scam.

Napoles had reportedly spilled the beans on Enrile, Estrada and Revilla during her talk with De Lima late Monday night at the Ospital ng Makati.

According to De Lima, Napoles had pinned down Enrile, Estrada and Revilla.

“We have time and again pointed out that the symbol of justice in this country is a blindfolded lady carrying the scales of justice, and that means that there is no fear or favor in the exercise of our responsibility to bring to the bar of justice those who are involved in the alleged misuse of public funds,” Coloma explained.

He said the DOJ investigation should be credible and based on evidence, which is the guideline given by the President.

So far, only the names of Enrile, Estrada and Revilla have repeatedly been mentioned. They have since been charged before the ombudsman.

But in several instances in the past, the names of incumbent Senators Loren Legarda, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Gregorio Honasan and former senators Ramon Revilla Sr., Loi Ejercito and Edgardo Angara have also cropped up.

Coloma said De Lima has yet to verify if there is a list of 19 other senators.

“We have to verify it, that which Secretary De Lima reportedly uttered. I am not affirming it absent complete understanding of the context of that attribution,” the Palace spokesman clarified.

Back to Blue Ribbon

Senators said that Napoles should be summoned back to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to spill the beans on lawmakers and other individuals involved in the pork barrel scam.

Senators Sergio Osmeña III and Antonio Trillanes IV challenged Napoles to substantiate her allegations that there are other senators besides Enrile, Estrada and Revilla who engaged her services to siphon off funds from PDAF to their private bank accounts.

Osmeña also suggested that the Blue Ribbon committee should get a copy of Napoles’ affidavit, where she purportedly would tell the truth about the multibillion-peso pork barrel anomaly.

He said the Blue Ribbon panel is inclined to get Napoles’ affidavit first to ensure that the time and effort of the committee will not be wasted once Napoles would repeat her strategy in last year’s inquiry of invoking her right against self-incrimination.

Trillanes said Napoles should name the senators and congressmen she dealt with in connection with the PDAF scam.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, in a letter to Blue Ribbon panel chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, recommended that the panel should invite or subpoena Napoles to continue the inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the pork barrel scam.

In her first appearance before the committee, Santiago noted, Napoles consistently refused to answer questions by invoking her right against self-incrimination.

Santiago made the call a day after the justice department had announced that Napoles is willing to tell the truth on the pork barrel issue.

“Ms. Napoles has not only asseverated the criminal liability of three senators named in the recent partial report submitted by our committee; but it appears that Ms. Napoles has also implicated some 19 other senators,” Santiago said.

“On this basis, I believe that there are strong reasons based on the Constitution and the Senate Rules, for recalling Ms. Napoles to the witness stand,” Santiago added.

According to Santiago, the Blue Ribbon should prioritize Napoles rather than Enrile’s former chief of staff, lawyer Gigi Reyes, “whose whereabouts seem to be unknown at this time, triggering rumors, wild or otherwise, on where she is.”

Reyes returned to the country after almost eight months in hiding, saying she is ready to face the plunder charges against her.

Napoles recovering from surgery

Napoles is now recovering after she underwent yesterday morning a two-hour hysterectomy to remove her uterus and ovaries at the Ospital ng Makati.

According to Efren Domingo, one of her doctors, the operation lasted from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Domingo said that after the operation, Napoles was taken to a recovery room and he described her condition as “stable.”

“The operation was uneventful, we performed a total hysterectomy and a bilateral salpingostomy, meaning we removed the entire uterus and both ovaries. The indication for the operation, as you may have known before, is because of severe adenomyosis, that’s her pathology,” Domingo told reporters at a briefing.

Hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus and ovaries while in a bilaterial salpingosotomy, the fallopian tubes are surgically removed.

Domingo also clarified that Napoles had suffered from a condition called adenomyosis of the uterus with multiple adenomyomata or a tumor of the uterus with multiple myomas.

“And just to be very clear, and exact, I like that to be definite, because it has been circulated in different terminologies, which were not actually correct in several months. Her disease is called severe adenomyosis of the uterus with multiple adenomyomata. This is technical and highly medical, but it is a tumor of the uterus, whereby the blood of the endometrial cavity enters into the myometrium and creates blood lakes in the myometrium. And in addition, the myometrium form tumors or myomas. And that caused the uterine muscle to form a mass,” he said.

Domingo said Napoles’ condition had caused bleeding and pain over the past six months.

Domingo added that Napoles’ condition was also “life threatening.”

“She developed this over several months to almost a year. Such that it led to profuse hemorrhage and pain over the past six months. And it became life-threatening,” he said.

Domingo also said that the biopsy conducted on Napoles last April 8 showed that her tumor was “pre-cancerous.”

“I say pre. It is not cancerous but is also not benign. It is a transition from benign to malignant,” he said.

Domingo said Napoles would take at least one week to recover from surgery, like any other patient who underwent a hysterectomy without complications.

She will have check-ups for the next three to four weeks.

Mixed reactions

Lawmakers expressed mixed reactions on the proposal to make Napoles a state witness.

House Deputy Majority Leader and Valenzuela City Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo warned the justice department that it would be “very difficult” to justify turning Napoles into a state witness.

Gunigundo said the Rules of Court provide that in order for an accused to qualify as a state witness, one has to be the least guilty.

“All lawyers know that the standards set by the Rules of Court, one has to be the least guilty (to qualify as state witness), the accused may be an accessory, or an accomplice, to qualify, but certainly not a principal,” Gunigundo told The STAR.

Militant party-list representatives said they would object to making Napoles a state witness.

“We will oppose this move considering that Janet Lim-Napoles is one of the main culprits in the pork barrel scam and this would be a clear travesty of justice. Napoles should be punished,” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said.

He said the government should not make a deal with the suspect because the public would think that “there was a quid pro quo between them.”

“It seems that for Napoles to go unscathed, she would have to exonerate President Aquino’s allies, which is also unacceptable. As it is, she is one of the main players in the conspiracy to misuse billions and she should not qualify as a state witness,” he said.

Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite said Napoles could qualify to be a state witness against lawmakers and other bureaucrats and private citizens involved in the pork barrel scam.

Barzaga said the gravity of the offense committed by Napoles is not the same as lawmakers and public officials involved in the scam.

He said a higher sense of trust is demanded of public officers, since “public office is a public trust.”

“Thus, private individuals like Mrs. Napoles would not appear to be the most guilty in this anomaly, from a legal point of view,” he said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said that the ombudsman should study carefully the proposal to turn Napoles into a state witness.

Drilon said that under the witness protection program, the first pre-requisite is that “you are not the most guilty” and under the rules of court “you are the least guilty.”

He said another requirement is that the testimony of the state witness is necessary to convict the mastermind.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said making Napoles a state witness is unacceptable, shameless and immoral.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Public Affairs Committee (PAC) chairman Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said that problems could arise if Napoles becomes a state witness because she would no longer be made accountable for her past offenses. - With Delon Porcalla, Mike Frialde, Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Rainier Allan Ronda, Celso Amo, Ding Cervantes