Napoles lied in Senate? She was afraid, lawyer says

MANILA, Philippines — Alleged "pork barrel" scam queen Janet Lim Napoles lied when she testified at the Senate last year because she was afraid of ratting out the officials involved, her lawyer said Thursday.

Atty. Bruce Rivera dismissed observations that his client, Napoles, may face perjury charges for denying her involvement in the pork barrel fund anomaly.

"Siyempre po takot si Mrs. Napoles na humarap doon, because she [would] be actually implicating several members of the very same house that will investigate or would have an inquiry," Rivera said in an interview with dzMM.

Rivera said that Napoles was "confused” and did not know how to handle the inquiry. She was hesitant of divulging information, especially right after her former lawyer Lorna Kapunan resigned from the camp, the lawyer added.

"Pagpunta niya roon [in Senate] sa mag-i-inquire sa kanya eh ang ingunguso niya 'yong mga may mga tao doon. S'yempre po takot siya," he added.

The lawyer, however, refused to confirm whether some of those who took part in the multi-billion peso government fund fraud were in the same room during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing in November last year.

Rivera also claimed that Napoles testified against her will, and calling the detained businesswoman a liar for her appearance in the Senate probe was "unfair."

"Walang voluntariness doon sa part ng pagsisinungaling niya because she was forced at that time," he said.

The lawyer made the statement amid calls for Napoles to face the Senate panel again after submitting her sworn affidavit to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last Monday.

Rivera also thinks that Napoles will not welcome the idea of participating again in a Senate hearing. She will have no choice, however, if she receives a subpoena.

"She will be appearing in the same house na maraming tao ang masasangkot ... As much as possible, we would want a proper investigating body," Rivera said, referring to the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman.

De Lima said that Napoles' testimony revealed a "lot of details" and confirmed the alleged role of at least three lawmakers, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr., in the scam.

She also said that Napoles is not assured of the status of state witness and immunity as her testimony would still be subjected to evaluation by the National Bureau of Investigation and the DOJ and then eventually passed on to the Office of the Ombudsman.

The scam's whistleblowers, meanwhile, fear that Napoles will muddle their respective testimonies and that she decided to talk for personal gains.

The whistleblower, led by Napoles' relative Benhur Luy, were employees of the businesswoman's JLN Corporation.