Palace willing to wait for Napoles affidavit

alaca an is illin to ait for the complete affidavit of suspected por barrel scam operator anet im- apoles, sayin that various demands and conditions, such as immunity for her children, could not be discussed ithout it.

As ed hether she as becomin a headache because of her requests, deputy presidential spo esperson Abi ail Valte yesterday said apoles should put her money here her mouth is” ith re ard to the details of the multibillion- peso por barrel fund scam controversy.

aybe e should ait for the affidavit before any request or this or that condition... finish the affidavit first,” Valte said.

ustice Secretary eila de ima said apoles mi ht settle for somethin less than immunity from prosecution but anted her children to be spared from char es.

ventually, immunity ill be up to the ombudsman and to the

courts. It’s not for us to decide,” Valte said.

There are no specifics on what sparing Napoles’ children might entail, but De Lima said the children were likely to be indicted only for graft instead of plunder. A graft complaint will allow the children to post bail.

Napoles’ children Jo Christine and James Christopher allegedly forged the signatures of ghost beneficiaries of the Malampaya Fund and liquidated documents in the scam.

Principal whistle-blower Benhur Luy reportedly said that when Napoles was not at their home at the Pacific Plaza Tower in Taguig City, it was Jo Christine who received the funds that were funneled to bogus non-government organizations.

The youngest daughter, Jeane, faces charges of tax evasion after she emerged as the owner of a pricey condominium unit in Los Angeles in the US although she has no visible source of income.

Jeane, who is studying in the US, will reportedly not be charged with plunder since she is a mere recipient of the unit.

Napoles’ lawyer Bruce Rivera said the possibility of Napoles’ children being charged with graft instead of plunder has not been discussed.

Rivera added the option of granting Napoles immunity has also not yet been discussed.

“She wants her children spared. But as to immunity, we have not talked about her options yet,” Rivera told The STAR in a text message.

Rivera added Napoles’ application for immunity has not yet been acted upon by the Department of Justice pending the completion of her affidavit.

“No action yet. Waiting for her complete affidavit,” Rivera said in a text message.

Rivera, however, said sparing Napoles’ children from prosecution and even her immunity are merely “requests.”

He said Napoles would still testify even if the requests were not granted by the DOJ.

“We will still tell the truth. Those are only requests,” Rivera said.

Napoles has formally applied for immunity in exchange for her testimony, which De Lima is still evaluating.

The National Bureau of Investigation is verifying the contents of a hard drive provided by the Napoles camp, listing lawmakers and other officials allegedly involved in the pork barrel and Malampaya Fund scams.

On Friday, the Makati regional trial court deferred Napoles’ transfer from the Ospital ng Makati to her detention cell at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna after one of her doctors testified that she experienced a “significant amount” of vaginal bleeding following her surgery last month.

Senior administration lawmakers warned De Lima against giving in to the demands of Napoles not to prosecute her children allegedly involved in the pork barrel fund scam.

They said Napoles should not be allowed to dictate how the case should proceed.

Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo said the DOJ “should not base what it should do on what Napoles says.”

“What must be stressed is that the DOJ must not be swayed by what Napoles says, otherwise it will only add more unwarranted suspicion that Napoles has been able to dictate the pace of her prosecution,” he said.

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said Napoles, as the alleged architect of the scam, does not have the right to choose against whom charges shall be filed.

“Consequently, her request to spare her children from prosecution has no basis in fact and in law and are certainly misplaced,” Barzaga said.

Parañaque City Rep. Gustavo Tambunting said there could be indications that some of Napoles’ children are involved, as they are incorporators or directors in companies involved in the scam.

“The law will not and should not make distinctions,” Tambunting said.

Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said there is growing suspicion in the minds of the public that something was afoot based on the actions of the administration in handling Napoles in the past weeks.

Atienza said De Lima earlier met with Napoles in her hospital room for several hours supposedly to get her affidavit or confession to include the list of government officials involved in the scam.

However, De Lima initially strongly resisted revealing the details of Napoles’ statement, saying she needed to “vet” it, they said.

Public pressure, however, compelled her to submit the list to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee.

“Something’s not right and I believe there is a cover-up going on for administration officials involved in the scam,” Atienza said.

“Why is Secretary De Lima dillydallying in filing the cases that she should have filed a long time ago? We have documents, we have the testimonies of the whistle-blowers, what’s she waiting for? She should file them now,” he said.

Romualdez said the various demands of Napoles – from seeking immunity to asking that her children be spared – could indicate that she has some form of leverage against the administration.

“She must know something or have something damning against the administration, that’s why she’s being treated with kid gloves. Or something’s being cooked up to pin down only the three opposition senators and other critical lawmakers in the case, and include a few ‘disposable’ allies to make it believable,” Romualdez said.

Ready to answer

Valte repeated the executive branch would go where the evidence would lead, and those implicated – like Budget Secretary Florencio Abad – would be ready to defend themselves.

She said they were one with those calling for “the process to unfold.”

“Our laws have put down a process that we all follow, especially when it comes to the investigation, prosecution and hearing, and eventual dispensation of a criminal charge. So let’s just follow that. We in government strictly follow the process as prosecutors and as investigators,” Valte said.

“At least in this particular case, it goes to the Office of the Ombudsman, which is an independent constitutional creation. And this will be brought, if ever, to the Sandiganbayan, which is the court that is mandated to hear charges of this nature,” she added.

Valte said the media have their guidelines and principles to follow in accordance with their profession and in dealing with such a big issue, along with the government, the Church and the public as a whole.

As regards the allegation of whistle-blower Merlina Suñas that Abad was really among their first clients as congressman, Valte said the charges against the budget chief were “messy.”

“But like Secretary Abad, he is ready to face such statements and those should not be mere say so but supported by evidence,” Valte said.

As regards the accusations of jueteng whistle-blower Sandra Cam that there had been payoffs to free Napoles from illegal detention charges, Valte said they would no longer comment on unsubstantiated allegations.

Cam, who also claimed to have a copy of Napoles’ tell-all affidavit, must have proof, Valte added.

In the legal system, “he who alleges or he who accuses must bear the proof,” contrary to the beliefs of Cam, Valte said.

Malacañang also expressed confidence De Lima would finally be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments at her confirmation hearing on June 4.

“We are confident Secretary de Lima will be able to answer all issues that will be asked of her,” alte said, adding the ustice secretary had been preparing for the confirmation hearing.

De Lima is expected to answer clearly and properly possible questions about the pork barrel scam should they be raised, she added.

ormer senator Joker Arroyo, the previous CA committee on ustice and Judicial and Bar Council chairman, had claimed then that the members of the commission were offended by De Lima’s reported refusal to follow a tradition for nominees to make courtesy calls on their respective offices.

But the incumbent chairman, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, said he had the go-signal to push through with De Lima’s confirmation hearing almost four years since she was appointed.