JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is set to meet with the lawyer of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles to discuss the possible reopening of investigations related to the misuse of lawmakers' Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
Speaking at a media forum in Manila Wednesday, Aguirre said he will also speak with former Manila councilor Greco Belgica.
Belgica is the main petitioner in a landmark case that led the Supreme Court to declare the whole pork barrel system unconstitutional.
According to Aguirre, they will consider turning Napoles into a state-witnesses following his claim that there is "miscarriage of justice" when only three senators have been accused as Napoles' co-conspirators in the PDAF scheme.
"The number of people (senators) who are accused in this PDAF (scam) ay tatlo lang," Aguirre said, referring to former senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., and Jose "Jinggoy" Ejercito.
"Alam naman natin na marami 'yan so talagang nagkaroon doon dito ng miscarriage of justice kasi dapat noon pa nakasuhan na ang mga 'yan at nang di maakusahan ng there is a selective justice," he said.
In a decision dated May 5, the Court of Appeals 12th division acquitted Napoles in the serious illegal detention of her cousin, Benhur Luy.
Napoles however remain in detention due to the plunder cases filed against her before the Sandiganbayan related to the pork barrel scam.
Aguirre said Napoles should not appear as the "most guilty" for her to be able to be used by the government to implicate government officials.
"I said what happened to Napoles when she was acquitted the other day of serious illegal detention will not affect if ever she will be used as a state witness in the PDAF cases. I said we're going to study," Aguirre said, referring to the case filed by Napoles' second cousin, Benhur Luy.
"It must appear that she should not be the most guilty. Depende 'yan sa evidence at sa sasabihin nya. You could be utilized as state witness if there are no other witnesses or evidence to support the conviction of a particular person," he added.
'Minimal player'
President Rodrigo Duterte, for his part, said Wednesday he believed Napoles does not play a key role in the scandal involving lawmakers' PDAF.
Duterte, in an interview with reporters in Pasay City before he left the country for an official visit to Cambodia, branded Napoles as a "minimal player" in the multibillion-peso scam involving public funds.
Duterte said the law requires that one must appear to be least guilty before she can be considered as a state witness.
"As to the question of whether or not she (Napoles) could be utilized as a state witness, there’s a law, which says that one of the requirements at least [is] she appears to be the least guilty. If you are a major player, I don’t know if you can do it," the President told reporters.
"So if you're asking for an expanded explanation, it's just that she appears to be the minimal player, not the major player in the commission of the crime," he added.
Duterte, when queried anew whether he considered Napoles as the "least guilty," he said, "No. It is pending in court. We, lawyers, are always advised never to comment because – especially that I am President – I will be liable for contempt."
"I might be arrested and I am busy now with my job – dispense money for the Filipinos. And I do not want to go to prison upon my return, unless you are ready to liberate me," he added.
Duterte, a former prosecutor, however reiterated his stance that there is no strong evidence that would prove that Napoles illegally detained Luy.
The President also accused Luy of "deliberately" allowing himself to be confined by Napoles.
"As a former prosecutor, I cannot think of how a person could be a victim of being hostage when he had all the while all the opportunity to go out and never come back, and he was allowed to go home," Duterte said.
"It was, I think – no offense intended – done deliberately. He deliberately let himself be detained… There were several instances that had he really wanted to be free, he could have done it in several instances," he added. (VoxPop Philippines)
