Miriam: Napoles' gang of thieves used my name in vain

Days after saying whistleblower Benhur Luy's files were "definitive and substantiated," Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago changed her tune on Tuesday after she was identified in same records as among the senators who supposedly transacted with alleged pork barrel scam Janet Lim-Napoles.

In a statement, Santiago dismissed Napoles alleged conspirators' list drawn up from Luy's digital files as "nothing but mudslinging."

"My name has been used in vain by the Napoles gang of thieves. I thought that if the Luy list included documents, they would first be authenticated, before publication. Silly me," the senator said.

"Someone has made money by using my name, and I will make that person pay, big time," she added.

Based on digital files it obtained from Luy's hard drive, the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wednesday identified 15 incumbent senators who supposedly had transactions with Napoles.

Aside from Santiago, the newspaper said the senators who had deals with Napoles include:

Revilla, Estrada and Enrile, including  Napoles are facing plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for their supposed involvement in the alleged pork barrel scam.

Confront Luy, Napoles

Santiago further said that she plans to confront Luy and Napoles regarding these records if they are summoned once again by the Senate blue ribbon committee to its probe on the alleged pork barrel scam.

"If such a confrontation materializes, I would consider it extremely unfortunate that, under the Constitution, I will not be allowed to use violence against those guilty of identity theft," the senator said.

Santiago even said that she should run for president after discovering how her name was supposedly used for corrupt practices.

"How sad for our country that such villainy can come to pass. If corruption is this bad, maybe I should run for president, on the same anticorruption platform from which I have fulminated [against] all these years," she said.

Santiago earlier asked the Senate blue ribbon committee to summon Luy and make him testify on the contents of his hard drive, which reportedly contains records of Napoles' transactions with some 200 public and private individuals.

The Inquirer report said Drilon received P5 million as head of the Commission on Appointments (CA). He also reportedly requested P100-million financial assistance for the Department of Agrarian Reform, but no transactions took place.

"Hindi naman siguro nagpapa-confirm noon si Gng. Napoles o si Luy para sila lumapit, dahil hindi naman sila government officials. Ito po ay illogical, at walang basehan," Drilon said over radio dzRH on Monday.

He added that the CA has never acted as an implementing agency, and is not allocated pork barrel funds. It is a bicameral body tasked to deliberate on executive and military appointments. — LBG/ELR, GMA News