After months of protests, controversies, and hearings, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles has finally made her appearance in front of the Senate in a hearing last November 7, Thursday.
In a span of 6 hours, the 10 senators in attendance had the chance to interrogate the pork barrel ‘queen’, hoping to finally shed light on the issue which has seen the disappearance of billions of government funds into bogus nongovernment organizations (NGO).
Getting there
Agreeing to have Napoles appear before the Senate initially proved to be a problem. Weeks prior to the hearing, Senate President Franklin Drilon refused to sign a subpoena that would have Napoles testify. It was only on October 21 that he agreed to sign it along with Blue Ribbon Committee chair Senator Teofisto Guingona III after a Senate caucus decided in favor of summoning Napoles.
Two days before the hearing, Napoles sent a letter addressed to both Drilon and Guingona requesting that it be moved since she was lacking a lawyer after the resignation of her previous advisor, Atty. Lorna Kapunan, a week before. Her request was turned down, and was informed that lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office would be provided for her.
Inconsistency?
It became apparent for the greater part of the hearing that Napoles avoided answering questions thrown at her, giving answers such as “Hindi ko po alam [I do not know]” and “Hindi ko matandaan [I do not remember]”, as well as invoking her right against self-incrimination. This draws attention to a similar incident when the Philippine Daily Inquirer conducted a roundtable discussion with Napoles last August 8.
During the said meeting, Napoles refused to specifically answer certain questions, and refused to name the alleged clients of the pork barrel scam unless Senate or Congress investigates. During the hearing, however, she stated that she could not remember when questions regarding the politicians involved were raised.
Napoles also implied during the discussion that another woman was the real boss of Benhur Luy, a whistle-blower of the scandal and the man allegedly kidnapped by Napoles months before. When asked during the hearing, she simply said she could not recall.
Denial
Napoles denied creating the 20 bogus NGOs implicated to her, but confirmed that one NGO – the Magdalena Luy-Lim Divine Mercy Foundation – named after her mother belonged to her. She explained that the NGO was intended for outreach programs.
She also denied concocting the system, which made pocketing the PDAF possible for lawmakers. The ‘kickback system’ used in the scam worked by dividing the PDAF among the all the parties involved. Of the total fund, 50% would be purloined by the specific lawmaker, 5% would go to their chiefs of staff, 10% would be given to the implementing agency, 1% would go to the bogus NGO, and the remaining 35% goes straight to Napoles. The whistle-blowers rebutted her, explaining that it would not have been possible for them to be aware of the division if she had not told them about it.
Though she denied most of the accusations, she did confirm that she owns JLN Corporation, which she says engages in trading. She, however, refuses to specify what type of trading the company participates in. She also confirmed having a coal business in Indonesia, but refuses to name the company there.
Napoles also affirmed that there was no credence to the allegations of the whistle-blowers against her, and that she had “never earned a single cent from government funds”.
Someone else?
It has been a pertinent matter to identify who really masterminded the scam, with the whistle-blowers recognizing Napoles as in-charge, and the latter pertaining to an unnamed person as the real boss. Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, on the other hand, believes that it is not her.
During the hearing, Santiago stated that Napoles could not have been the mastermind behind the scam, arguing that being able to create the system would require a sophistication and understanding of the processes within the government, which Napoles did not have. She instead posited that Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile as the “most guilty”.
“Kung si Enrile ang most guilty, sabihin mo na para hindi ka ipapatay. ‘Wag mo i-underestimate si Enrile [If Enrile is the most guilty, say it now so he would not have you killed. Do not underestimate him].”
Santiago also attempted to persuade Napoles into telling the truth so that the people would see that she is not the guiltiest party. If it is proven true, then she may be accommodated as a state witness and be subjected to the witness protection program.
Santiago also stressed that being a state witness would prevent Napoles from being indicted for the cases against her, which allows her to avoid imprisonment, and at the same time protecting her. “Tell the truth before the senators affected have you assassinated,” she said.
Paper trail
Amidst the rejection of the allegations made against her regarding the pork barrel scam, there have been developments on the investigation of her involvement in yet another scam. Just recently, Napoles was linked to the fertilizer fund scam, where P728 million of government funds vanished. According to Luy, three of the NGOs from Napoles were involved in the scam. During the hearing, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano presented two documents on procuring fertilizers, which allegedly contained her signature. Napoles denied they were hers, while the whistle-blowers asserted it was.
Certain documents, however, were allegedly discarded long before the scandal came to light. This pertained to the kickbacks given to lawmakers and to their respective chiefs of staff, which Napoles denied, citing that no vouchers existed. One of the whistleblowers immediately refuted her, saying that the evidence was already disposed of. Marina Sula, the bookkeeper of Napoles, said that the vouchers were shredded to ensure that no evidence would be available that would link her to the scam.
Hearing from the implicated
The senators implicated with Napoles have also expressed their opinion on the Senate hearing. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, prior to his departure to the United States, stated in an interview with Rappler that he expects Napoles “will not say anything” during the proceedings. He predicted that she would invoke her right against self-incrimination when asked questions regarding the scam.
Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, meanwhile, issued a statement regarding the turnout of the hearing, stressing that the senators have turned the investigation into a “parody of justice” after, as he explains, members of the Senate blue ribbon committee made “wild-eyed charges, baseless assumptions, and false accusations.” He also urged Napoles to tell the truth, citing that “only the truth will set me free.” He concluded by reaffirming his and his staff’s innocence from the scandal.
On the other hand, Sen. Bong Revilla was satisfied with the testimony of Napoles’ albeit the frustration of the senators present in the investigation. In a report by GMA News, Revilla said he was pleased that Napoles appeared before the Senate, but adds that he felt her testimony was lacking. However, he furthers that she would still reveal more if she has anything more hide.
The Senate Blue Ribbon committee is currently in the process of having Jaime Napoles, husband of Janet Lim-Napoles, summoned as well, but as of press time, there is no word yet on when a hearing would be held.
