MANILA, Philippines - Senator Cynthia Villar, present at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the pork barrel scam on Thursday, kept her time at the microphone briefly and refused to grill Janet Lim Napoles.
"Hindi na ko magtatanong kasi wala naman pong masasagot sa ating katanungan," Villar said.
The senator finally spoke hours into the cross-examination of the alleged pork scam queen, who came face to face with her accusers, including whistle-blower and cousin Benhur Luy.
Villar said that she merely wanted to express her participation in the investigation.
Senators Teofisto Guingona, Alan Peter Cayetano, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Francis Escudero, Grace Poe and Antonio Trillanes IV have already asked questions before Villar's intervention.
The senators failed to get definite answers from Napoles, who repeatedly invoked the right against self incrimination whenever asked about information on the pork barrel scam.
The hearing lasted from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a lunch break lasting for almost an hour in between.
Napoles also conferred with appointed public attorneys for about 40 minutes at the start of the session.
Villar's name, meanwhile, made it to Twitter's trending topics at about 4:00 p.m. on Thursday for her short intervention, with users either praising or criticizing her for the move.
Sen. @Cynthia_Villar made a good move by not asking questions anymore. She knows the lady wont talk anyway.
— Nicky Cojuangco (@NoOtherNicky) November 7, 2013
Seriously, @Cynthia_Villar? Following your logic, might as well shut down the investigation. Not an excuse for not asking questions.
— Anthony Robles (@anthonyrbls02) November 7, 2013