Miriam: Napoles testimony should be preserved now due to threats to her life

(Updated 1:19 p.m.) The testimony of Janet Lim-Napoles, alleged mastermind of the P10-billion pork barrel scam, should be "preserved" as soon as possible due to various threats to her life, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said Monday.

 

In a statement, Santiago said the Rules of Court allow a person to "perpetuate" his or her testimony "for future use" even before trial through a procedure called "deposition and discovery."

 

“Any adverse event could prevent Napoles from fully identifying the senators and congressmen with whom she had PDAF [Priority Development Assistance Fund] transactions. For example, any of the suspects could hire operatives to silence her, or she might inflict physical damage on herself. She might contract a life-threatening ailment. For any of these reasons, the Rules of Court allows her to give her testimony well before trial,” the senator said.   

 

She added that Napoles can actually "reduce the level of threats to her security" if she already identifies the politicians involved in the alleged scam as early as now.

 

“It can reasonably be expected that Napoles will name the senators and representatives as expected adverse parties. The Rules require her to serve notice at least 20 days before the date of hearing,” Santiago said.

 

Last Wednesday, Napoles surrendered to President Benigno Aquino III after she was ordered arrested in connection with an illegal detention case. 
 

On Sunday, Napoles was transferred from the Makati City Jail to Fort Sto. Domingo in Laguna.