Napoles lawyer: High school grad cannot mastermind a multibillion-peso pork scam

Businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles could not have masterminded a multibillion-peso pork barrel scam because she was only a high school graduate, her lawyer insisted on Sunday.

Stephen David, counsel for Napoles, also told Super Radyo dzBB in an interview that Napoles is a "private person" and could not manipulate lawmakers into allocating their Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) in bogus projects.

"Paano naging mastermind ang isang private person na hindi nga nakatungtong ng college, para paikutin mo yung buong Senado o buong Kongreso? Parang hindi naman kapani-paniwala yun. Gawa-gawa lang ng dating administrasyon na siya iyong mastermind," he said.

"Private person ka lang. Paano mo mama-manipulate ang mga magagaling na mababatas natin?" he added.

Napoles "has been provisionally covered by the Witness Protection Security and Benefit Program effective February 27, 2018," according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) certification signed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Maria Nerissa Molina-Carpio.

David said being admitted to the Witness Protection Program (WPP) means Napoles' affidavits will now be analyzed by the DOJ to determine the veracity of her statements.

"Palagay ko naman nasa wisdom naman ng Department of Justice kung bakit kailangan siyang maging WPP witness," he said.

David maintained the importance of Napoles' testimony in seeking truth in the PDAF scam.

If Napoles would tell her knowledge and cooperate with the authorities to shed more light on the controversial scam, David said she might even be fully covered by the provisions of the WPP.

David also confirmed that Napoles submitted a list of other possible witnesses and others who should be held liable for the scam.

"Kailangan talaga malaman ng Department of Justice sino lahat ang involved. Tapos ibe-vet yun," he said.

David refused to name the personalities included in the list.

Napoles is facing five counts of the non-bailable offense of plunder and numerous graft charges across six of the seven divisions of the Sandiganbayan in relation to the PDAF scam. —Erwin Colcol/ALG, GMA News