Gov’t denies protecting Napoles

The government is not trying to protect accused pork barrel scam queen Janet LimNapoles despite a recent intervention seeking her acquittal in another case, according to a Palace official.

“Seriously? I doubt that,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said over government radio when asked if the government was now protecting Napoles.

Abella, however, admitted that he was unaware if a deal has been reached with Napoles in exchange for her acquittal of illegal detention charges. Napoles, who appealed her conviction for illegally detaining pork barrel scam witness Benhur Luy, is also facing criminal charges for alleged involvement in the misuse of public funds.

“I don’t know, I am not privy to those matters pero kung may usap-usapan sila hindi natin alam iyan,” Abella said when asked about the government’s suspected deal with Napoles.

“But definitely the SolGen (Solicitor General) viewed these matters and that’s what he decided on,” he added.

The Office of the Solicitor General earlier recommended the reversal of Napoles’ conviction for serious illegal detention supposedly due to lack of evidence. In seeking her acquittal, Solicitor General Jose Calida claimed that Napoles was a victim of injustice following a review of her case.

Calida also reportedly said he was open to hearing Napoles’ side about the pork barrel issue to ferret out the truth. He suspected that more high-ranking government officials may be involved in the pork barrel scam.

Some groups have questioned Calida’s move to rescue Napoles, the suspected mastermind of the pork barrel scam.