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Ni Ime SornitoBy Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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Thursday, May 11, 2017
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MANILA – Detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles is being eyed as state witness.
But, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said taking her in as state witness in the multi-billion peso Priority Development Assistance Fund scam cases is a “travesty of justice.”
Napoles is currently jailed at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City for plunder and graft cases.
“It is glorifying a villain as a hero. Napoles is not a hero. She is a criminal mastermind who orchestrated one of the biggest multi-billion scams in recent history,” said Hontiveros.
The senator also lamented the government’s plan to turn the “pork barrel queen” into a state witness to use Napoles to “harass members of the political opposition.”
“The Duterte government must not sacrifice the people’s pursuit for truth and justice to serve its lust for political vindictiveness,” she added.
The Department of Justice has said they are looking into meeting Napoles for the planned reopening of the pork barrel probe.
“We’re building up cases and we’re really committed to get Janet Lim-Napoles if she will cooperate,” secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said.
Napoles’ testimony was instrumental in building cases against former senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada, who were detained in 2014 for plunder charges over alleged misuse of public funds./PN
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