Now it can be told. President Aquino himself is chummy with Janet Lim Napoles and her family and the pictures are out to prove it. No matter how much the president hems and haws about not knowing any or all of the Napoles family members, logic and common sense are not on his side.
When the first picture -- that of Aquino and Napoles' daughter Jeanne -- first came out, the president was quick to dismiss it as one of those photo opportunities that happen every now and then. In other words, it does not follow that he has to know each and every person his picture is taken with.
Aquino used the same explanation when more pictures of him surfaced -- with Janet herself, and then with her husband Jimmy. The photos, by the way, were taken in Cebu during one of the rites celebrating the sainthood of Pedro Calungsod.
What Aquino seems to have forgotten is that he is the president -- that means not just anybody can sidle up to him and have a "posed" picture taken, as opposed to random shots that can be taken by anyone at anytime and anyplace.
To have a "posed" picture taken with the president, a person has to be an acquaintance, at the very least. In all likelihood, however, "posed" pictures must necessarily involve those with whom the president is comfortable with and, more importantly, do not raise red flags in the minds of his security detail.
Then there are the other factors, such as Aquino having been a long-time legislator (three terms as congressman, and half a term or three years as senator), during which it is impossible for him not to have even crossed paths with Janet Napoles.
Remember that there are only two things about which word gets around pretty fast -- sex and money. Never mind the sex, but word about money and its links to Napoles could not have made an extremely surprising exception of Aquino's ears in all the time that he had been a congressman and a senator.
Let us just assume that Aquino, being squeaky clean and morally upright, never had anything to do with the pork barrel scam that has now proven to be the downfall of Janet Napoles. But it is impossible for him not to have even heard that she existed, which is what he, as president, wants his people to believe.
Mr. President, nobody is accusing you of anything pork-related. But you cannot lie to your own people and say you have never known Janet Napoles. The least you can do for a friend is to acknowledge that, at one time in your lives, you did not just pass each other like ships in the night.