'Napoles testimony not needed in case buildup'

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima believes that the testimony of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind  Janet Lim Napoles is  unnecessary to build a strong plunder case against lawmakers.

"As of the moment, we don’t need her," De Lima said in an interview on ANC on Tuesday.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is working on a third batch of cases on Napoles' fake non-government organizations to be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.

De Lima, refusing to accept Napoles' role as possible state witness, said that the case buildup currently relies on evidence culled from other sources as well as affidavits of the whistleblowers led by Benhur Luy.

"We have enough independent evidence to really make the charges stick in court. Independent evidence outside of any admission on the part of Mrs. Napoles or outside of any proffered testimony from her or any proffered tell-all testimony from her," she said.

However, the official also said that the case would find a strongest corroboration if Napoles spills the beans and tells the truth.

"The most ideal scenario is for her to really tell all, with our without any offer of immunity, with or without any conditions," she said.

De Lima also said that more congressional lawmakers will be tagged in the multi-billion peso scheme once the DOJ turns over the case to the Ombudsman sometime soon.

The new names will be added to the 37 linked to the government fund scam including Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla, Jr.

"Dun sa second batch. More on congressmen. Hinihimay namin ng maayos yung ebidensya," De Lima said.