DOJ to review ‘pork’ probe

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to revisit the pork barrel scam cases and address the previous administration’s supposed selective justice in handling the controversy.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II believes there was something fishy in the manner the previous administration conducted the investigation.

“What I know is that the DOJ then suppressed evidence against other politicians,” he told reporters in an interview yesterday.

He did not name the politicians, but critics earlier alleged that the DOJ under then secretary and now Sen. Leila de Lima spared administration allies. 

Aguirre said he would talk to Janet Lim-Napoles, the jailed businesswoman tagged as the brains of the Priority Development Assistant Fund anomaly, to shed light on the matter.

“When Napoles first surfaced, she was brought to Malacañang and Mar (Manuel Roxas II) accompanied her in Camp Crame. The question is why? They were obviously hiding something,” he stressed.

The DOJ chief said he would ask Napoles to really divulge everything she knew about the multibillion-peso anomaly without being selective this time.

Aguirre believes that Napoles was fooled into cooperating with the previous administration when she did not benefit from her supposed “tell-all” affidavit and list personally submitted to De Lima.

“Why did she cover up for others when she knew they were all guilty? She won’t be able to get away with it anyway, unless the President grants her pardon,” he pointed out.

“She could be a witness again, even not necessarily a state witness. Anyway, she will be in jail due to her conviction in another serious illegal detention case. The only benefit she could get is to just tell the truth,” he added.

Aguirre explained that the DOJ reinvestigation was ordered by President Duterte.

“This is part of the President’s platform to rid the government of corruption,” he explained.

Aguirre also assured witnesses of the previous administration, including whistle-blower Benhur Luy, that they would remain under the witness protection program.

In the list she submitted to the DOJ in May 2014 for her bid for immunity from criminal suits in the PDAF scam, Napoles tagged nine senators in the PDAF scam: Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, Vicente Sotto III, Loren Legarda, Aquilino Pimentel III, Alan Peter Cayetano, Gringo Honasan and Francis Escudero.

However, only Revilla, Estrada and Enrille have been charged with plunder by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan.

Former senator Manuel Villar Jr. was also in the list where Napoles affixed her signature and two thumb marks.

Also in the list were Liberal Party members – former budget secretary and Batanes representative Florencio Abad and former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority head and now Sen. Joel Villanueva. No charges were filed against Abad.

The list also included the names of 69 incumbent and former congressmen as well as those of alleged conduits for the implementing agencies like the departments of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, National Livelihood Development Corp., Technology Resource Center and National Agribusiness Corp.