{"id":975991,"date":"2018-03-17T07:19:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T23:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/?p=975991"},"modified":"2018-03-17T00:21:13","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T16:21:13","slug":"what-an-unbelievable-crazy-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/975991\/what-an-unbelievable-crazy-development","title":{"rendered":"\u2018What an unbelievable, crazy development\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON PDAF SCAM In this Sept. 16, 2013 photo, Benhur Luy, a relative of Janet Lim-Napoles, swears to his affidavit linking her and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada to the P10-billion pork barrel scam. \u2014INQUIRER PHOTO<\/p><\/div>\n

Dumbfounding and disturbing.<\/p>\n\n

Several lawmakers on Friday were appalled at the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to include alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in its witness protection program (WPP), a step closer to making her a state witness.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat an unbelievable, crazy development,\u201d said Senate President Koko Pimentel.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDo some people in the DOJ really believe that Janet Lim-Napoles is qualified to be a state witness in the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scam, which she herself invented, organized and perpetuated?\u201d the Senate leader said in a text message to reporters.<\/p>\n\n

Confidential affidavit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Napoles was admitted provisionally into the WPP on Feb. 27 but the DOJ\u2019s move was disclosed only on Friday.<\/p>\n\n

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II clarified on Friday that she was still not a state witness as prosecutors were still assessing a confidential affidavit she had submitted.<\/p>\n\n

Being covered by the WPP would allow her transfer to a more secure and comfortable accommodation from her Bureau of Jail Management and Penology detention cell in Bicutan where she is being held while on trial.<\/p>\n\n

Napoles is facing five plunder cases along with several other graft and malversation charges in connection with scams involving PDAF and Malampaya funds\u2014the government\u2019s share from the natural gas wells off Palawan that was supposed to be used for victims of two major storms in 2009.<\/p>\n\n

Sen. Risa Hontiveros called the DOJ move a \u201ctravesty of justice,\u201d which she said was not surprising under President Duterte.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAfter all, this is the same government that used the testimonies of convicted and self-confessed drug lords (who have everything to gain and nothing to lose) to intimidate and unjustly incarcerate one of the leading figures of the political opposition,\u201d she said, referring to Sen. Leila de Lima.<\/p>\n\n

Hontiveros and fellow opposition lawmakers Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano and Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin believe Napoles may now be used by the Duterte administration to go after its enemies.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe government\u2019s provision of witness protection for Janet Lim-Napoles would now afford her means to just point and put blame on anyone as has been the habit of this administration,\u201d Alejano said.<\/p>\n\n

Sen. JV Ejercito said he was \u201cdisturbed and dismayed\u201d by the reports.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThis is a setback in our fight against corruption and the pork barrel system. I am not prepared to accept the idea that Mrs. Napoles is the least guilty in the PDAF scam. Napoles rigged the system in order to enrich herself and others at the expense of the public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n

Review DOJ performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Ejercito, whose half-brother, former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, is among those charged in the pork barrel scam, urged Mr. Duterte to review the DOJ\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said Napoles\u2019 new status \u201chas no effect on the cases under trial in court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Sen. Panfilo Lacson tried to calm his fellow lawmakers, saying the Ombudsman, not the DOJ, was prosecuting the PDAF cases, \u201cwhich means that the DOJ has no control whatsoever over (Napoles\u2019) possible discharge as a state witness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He said it would be the court that would decide whether she may be dropped from the case and used as a witness.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat is interesting in this move of the DOJ is, who Ms Napoles will implicate who have not been investigated and charged yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n

Villarin said the justice system was being \u201cweaponized\u201d to silence the political opposition by the DOJ under Aguirre.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAfter the DOJ prosecutors absolved confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Lim, Peter Co, among others, and after using them against Sen. Leila de Lima, now Aguirre is setting up Napoles as state witness to implicate former officials of the Aquino administration, including incumbent elected officials,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n

Some of the whistle-blowers who were key witnesses in the pork barrel racket were alarmed and confused by the DOJ\u2019s decision, their lawyer, Stephen Cascolan, said.<\/p>\n\n

\u2018Cases may be diluted\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhere is this leading to?\u201d Cascolan asked. \u201cAfter looking at the official certification of the DOJ, we only got confused because her (provisional) admission did not mention to which cases she would be used as witness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He said there was no need for the DOJ to place her under the WPP since she was already being held in a state facility.<\/p>\n\n

The whistle-blowers were worried that Napoles\u2019 possible testimony would only lead to the dismissal of the pork barrel scam cases, he said.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe cases may be diluted and their credibility as witnesses would be eroded,\u201d Cascolan said. \u2014WITH A REPORT FROM MARLON RAMOS<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dumbfounding and disturbing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":975996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,34,37,45],"tags":[],"byline":[182],"source":[206078],"column":[],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"class_list":["post-975991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inquirer-headlines","category-latest-stories","category-nation","category-nation-latest-stories","byline-dj-yap","source-philippine-daily-inquirer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018What an unbelievable, crazy development\u2019 | Inquirer 黑料社<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dumbfounding and disturbing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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