Revilla dares TG Guingona: Make DOJ disclose Napoles list or resign

Senator Teofisto Guingona III should just quit as blue ribbon committee chairman if he has no plans of compelling the Department of Justice (DOJ) to bare the contents of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles' supposed tell-all, Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. said Tuesday.

 

Revilla, who is being implicated in the alleged scam, said Guingona should not let the DOJ remain tight-lipped on Napoles' list of other public officials who allegedly benefited from the anomalous transactions for long.

 

"Noong time na tinitira nila kami sa blue ribbon, wala silang pakundangan. Ngayon, ang challenge sa chairman ng blue ribbon committee na i-compel niya itong si Secretary [Leila] De Lima na ilabas ang listahan," Revilla told reporters Tuesday.

 

"Kung ilalabas natin bukas, sa makalawa, sa isang buwan, parehas lang iyan. Bakit pa natin pinoprolong?" he added.

 

Guingona is currently abroad and could not immediately reached for comment on Revilla's statements.

 

Several groups and individuals, including former Senator Panfilo Lacson, have appealed to De Lima to divulge details of Napoles' revelations. Lacson had claimed he has managed to obtain a copy of Napoles' list through the detained businesswoman's husband, Jaime Napoles. 

 

Despite these calls, De Lima has refused to reveal the list, saying such a move will be "reckless" on her part. She also asked the Senate to give her enough space to verify Napoles' claims.

 

For his part, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is also being tagged in the alleged pork barrel scam, said De Lima should not wait for the Senate blue ribbon committee to compel her to reveal Napoles' list.

 

"What is there to evaluate? What is there to vet? Unfair sa aming tatlo iyon. Bakit kaming tatlo lang ang idinidiin niya? The problem with her is that she's too talkative. Now she's very very silent," Estrada said in a separate interview.

 

"With or without any committee hearings, she has to release that list if she has any. Why wait for the committee to compel her to release the list? She can do it on her own kung talagang meron sya," he added.

 

Estrada, Revilla and Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile are facing plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly pocketing millions of pesos from their discretionary funds supposed funneled to fake foundations organized by Napoles. — RSJ, GMA News