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Palace distances from Senate-Ombudsman debate on Napoles appearance before Blue Ribbon committee

Posted on September 25, 2013

MANILA, (PNA) –The Palace refuses to join the debate whether detained Janet Lim Napoles should appear before a Senate investigation into the P10 billion “pork barrel” fund scam.

“It’s a question of the interpretation of the rules. Labas po ang Palasyo diyan. We’ve stated that we have no position there,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said at a media briefing on Wednesday.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said he was not keen to summon Napoles to the Senate’s probe. He said the decision to defer to the Office of the Ombudsman’s advice not to summon Napoles would “uphold the supremacy of the law.”

The Ombudsman said inviting Napoles to the inquiry might just be “an exercise in futility” since the controversial businesswoman has publicly denied involvement in the alleged scam.

Last Tuesday, Senate Blue Ribbon committee chair Teofisto Guingona Jr. scolded Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for failure to bring the whistleblowers for the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam during the hearing. He insisted that the testimony of Napoles was needed in the investigation.

De Lima invoked the Ombudsman rules when she opted not to bring the witnesses.

According to Lacierda, the Palace wants criminal prosecution on those responsible for the scam and that the alleged brains behind the scam is already facing charges.

“Are we happy with just a Blue Ribbon Committee investigation? It’s good that it will have one. But is that the end-all and be-all of all this revelation? Will that revelation bring us to something closer to criminal prosecution?” he said.

“What the Palace is after is criminal prosecution because at the end of the day, someone must be held accountable,” he added.

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