Bong: Too much pressure forced Napoles to 'tell all'

MANILA, Philippines - Pork barrel scam operator Janet Lim Napoles has become so desperate that she has been pressured to implicate senators, including Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr, into the pork barrel controversy, the senator's lawyer, Joel Bodegon, said Tuesday.

According to Bodegon, Napoles seemed to have received too much pressure that forced her to fabricate lies just to get off the tight situation that she is in now.

Napoles has been detained at the Special Action Force (SAF) facility at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, following her surrender to President Aquino in Malacanang on August last year.

The Department of Justice had since filed before the Ombudsman plunder complaints against her and some lawmakers in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) misuse.

“If ever she gives statement to the contrary, that would mean that she was forced to do so at the sacrifice of the truth--what with all the cases filed against her and her family and whatever other pressures that have been brought to bear upon her,” Bodegon said.

“This gives credence to the saying, ‘Ang taong ginigipit kahit sa patalim kumakapit,’” the lawyer added.

Napoles’ sudden turnaround came amid the government’s all-out campaign to prosecute those involved in the pork barrel scam where plunder charges have been leveled against senators and some individuals, including Napoles.

The filing of plunder charges are on top of the move to freeze all the bank accounts of those implicated in the pork scam, including those of Napoles, former presidential social secretary Ruby Tuason, former Senate chief of staff Gigi Reyes, and Senate staffers Pauline Labayen and Jose Evangelista.

Evangelista is working as deputy chief of staff of Senate minority leader Juan Ponce Enrile while Labayen worked as appointments secretary of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

Enrile, Revilla and Estrada are the three senators so far implicated in the pork barrel scam.

Bodegon said Revilla has always insisted on the truth even as he turned the tables against Napoles for reversing her earlier statement that his client is not involved in the pork barrel fund misuse.

Bodegon noted that Revilla has even urged Napoles to reveal the truth even at the early stage of the controversy.

“He has embraced truth as his life's guiding principle. He has urged early on Mrs. Janet Lim Napoles to come out, tell the truth,” Bodegon said in a text message to reporters.

According to the lawyer, Revilla himself conducted his own investigation to get to the bottom of the so-called PDAF scam to determine those responsible and that they may be brought before the bar of justice.

“As a result he has filed civil suit against those who confessed responsibility for the scam. He has filed a criminal counter-charge with the Ombudsman against those he found liable for the plunder of the PDAF funds,” Bodegon added.

Bodegon was referring to the case filed by the senator’s camp against the whistleblowers led by Benhur Luy for conspiring to dupe the government by faking signatures of the senator to siphon off the PDAF allocations from 2007 to 2010.

Bodegon also pointed out that Napoles had early on declared that she had no transactions with Revilla.

“… thereby she herself confirmed that he had no criminal involvement in the scam,” the lawyer noted.