Napoles as state witness?

ON DISTANT SHORE

By Val G. Abelgas

In this November 2013 photo, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima exchanges a few words with alleged “pork barrel” scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles during the Senate panel hearing. Senate PRIB

Please say it ain’t so, Secretary De Lima.

If the Aquino administration is really serious in going after the corrupt in Philippine society and in eliminating graft and corruption in the country, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has to assure the Filipino people that the government would prosecute all those who were involved in the greatest public heist ever in the country, with at least P10 billion in people’s money going to the pockets of corrupt politicians and crooked businessmen.

In reaction to reports that Gigi Reyes, former chief of staff of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and one of the main accused in the plunder case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman involving the P10-billion pork barrel scam, may have returned to the Philippines to turn state witness, De Lima said she would prefer Janet Lim Napoles, the principal suspect in the fund mess, as state witness over Reyes.

De Lima said that if Reyes turns state witness, she could only help the government pin down her former boss, Enrile. Reyes’ disclosure would only be a “bonus,” she added. On the other hand, she added, if Napoles talks and becomes a state witness, the government would be able to identify all those involved in the multi-billion peso government fund scam.

What logic! It’s like asking gang boss Al Capone to testify as state witness to bring all the politicians and policemen under his payroll to jail. It seems that De Lima would rather let go of the big fish, the alleged mastermind in the P10-billion pork barrel scam and the P900-million Malampaya fund mess, to go scot free as long as she is able to jail the three senators who have been pains in Aquino’s neck.

This is the second time De Lima hinted that Napoles could become a state witness. In August last year, De Lima said she would not rule out tapping Napoles as a state witness to go after bigger fish such as lawmakers who channeled public funds to her ghost projects. De Lima did not rule out the possibility, even though the law requires a state witness to be “not the most guilty of the crime charged.”

Of course, Enrile, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Bong Revilla are big fishes and could be as guilty as Napoles in the shameless scheme. But Napoles, being the alleged mastermind and the biggest beneficiary of the fraud, is the biggest fish of all because she was reportedly involved in all transactions dating to the time of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

In the last several months, the idea of making Napoles state witness has been floated around, not just by De Lima, but by other Aquino allies, including Sen. Serg Osmena and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

When Napoles refused to talk before Senate probers, Osmena said the Senate may be willing to grant her immunity, meaning she could not be prosecuted for whatever she may say during the investigation, just to entice her to reveal her conspirators. Of course, the senators thought twice and refused to give her immunity.
Just after the suspicious surrender of Napoles to Aquino in Malacanang, Roxas said the government remained open to the idea of making Napoles a state witness. He said the avenue remained open if Napoles had “contribution to information and evidence.”

Of course, she has! After all, according to more than 10 whistleblowers that previously worked for her, she was the mastermind of the pork barrel scam and that she even bragged that as long as there’s government, there was money to be made!

But by all accounts, the 10 or so whistleblowers have made or submitted all testimonial and documentary evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Napoles, several congressmen and senators, and several bureaucrats conspired to rob the people of more than P10 billion in government funds through an elaborate scam that involved huge kickbacks, ghost projects, fake or fraudulent NGOs, forgery, and bribery.

What can Napoles contribute that his former workers and close confidantes, who handled all the transactions, handed over cash, and forged several signatures, do not already know or have documentary proofs of?

As the alleged mastermind and biggest beneficiary, Napoles could be considered among the worst abusers of the system and justice requires that she be treated as defendant, not as state witness.

Letting the biggest fish off the hook to get at his worst critics is wrong, and smacks of selective justice! Making Napoles state witness and allowing her to go scot free would render credible allegations that Malacanang is as guilty as the other accused, and that the supposed surrender of Napoles to Aquino was scripted.

All that took part in that shameless scam should all go to jail, whether they are senators, congressmen, small and big bureaucrats, big or small contractors, and whether they are friendly to or critical of the administration.
Only the original whistleblowers, like Benhur Luy, who had direct knowledge of the illegal transactions and the conspirators of their former boss, should be given immunity from prosecution as state witnesses. I would presume that the numerous and credible testimonies that they made before the media, Senate probers and NBI investigators and the boxes of documentary evidence that they have turned over to the NBI should be more than enough to prove beyond reasonable doubt the crime of plunder committed by the accused.

Let the trial begin!

(valabelgas@aol.com)