Tuason lawyer: Jinggoy can’t use CCTV footage as alibi
MANILA — The lawyer of pork barrel scam provisionary state witness Ruby Tuason has said that they had prepared for Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s possible moves to destroy the credibility of the socialite.
“We prepared for this. We compiled documents expecting this will happen,” Manalo said in an interview with ANC on Thursday night.
The lawyer said that Estrada would not be able to use the CCTV camera recordings from the Senate to clear his name from the accusations of pocketing part of his Priority Development Assistance Fund through a partnership with businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel fund scam.
He explained that the videos strengthened Tuason’s accounts that she did enter the Senate building in Pasay in 2008, as stated in her affidavit submitted to the Department of Justice as well as her testimonies before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in February.
Manalo said that Estrada cannot show proof that Tuason did not give him his kickback from the scam by merely relying on the CCTV camera recordings.
In his privilege speech on Wednesday, Estrada pointed out that Tuason was not carrying a duffel bag containing cash during her visits in the Senate.
Estrada also claimed that Tuason did not only illegally obtain P40 million from Napoles as commissions from the pork barrel scam, but also received P242 million from the Malampaya funds for government power projects.
The lawmaker also stressed that Tuason, an acknowledged socialite who maintains a house in posh Dasmariñas Village in Makati, bought other upscale properties in Valle Verde in Pasig, Ayala-Alabang in Muntinlupa and one in Nevada, United States.
Manalo denied these accusations and said that Tuason’s credibility as potential state witness “remains intact.”