MANILA, Philippines -- Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the surrender of Janet Lim-Napoles, the businesswoman accused of engineering the P10-billion pork barrel scam, could finally shed light on the scandal that has rocked the Aquino administration but the Left saw a badly “scripted” event that raised questions of a possible “deal” with Malacanang.
Napoles’ surrender, said Belmonte in a text message, "could result in new leads and new evidence, and thus buttress the investigation of the ghost project NGO (nongovernmental organization) pork scam."
The alleged scam supposedly involved lawmakers handing over huge amounts from their Priority Development Assistance Fund, or pork barrel, for nonexistent projects proposed by bogus NGOs set up by Napoles.
The disclosure of the scam triggered widespread outrage and demands to scrap the pork barrel system, blamed by many for corruption and patronage politics. The anger led to Monday’s #MillionPeopleMarch and, just before this, Aquino’s order to replace the PDAF but not the congressional allocations and discretionary funds seen to be at the heart of the pork barrel system.
Napoles surrendered to President Benigno Aquino III Wednesday night after two weeks in hiding to evade an arrest warrant for serious illegal detention charges brought against her and her brother, Reynald Lim, by Benhur Luy, who blew the whistle on the scam.
Belmonte reiterated that he preferred the inter-agency body created by Malacanang investigate the scam instead of Congress.
"But we promise our full cooperation," Belmonte said.
Several resolutions have been filed in the House of Representatives urging the chamber to look into the scandal while in the Senate, the Blue Ribbon committee will be opening its own inquiry Thursday.
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, on the other hand, said Malacanang should reveal the terms of surrender of Napoles.
"Is it a deal or no deal? If ever, how will the deal affect the PDAF scam and the cases that will be filed?" Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.
"It's hard not to see the carefully orchestrated dramatic surrender to Aquino and then turn over to (Interior Secretary Mar) Roxas and the PNP (Philippine National Police). It seemed calculated to make the President look good even if he refuses to scrap the pork barrel system. The people must demand answers now lest political considerations and posturing, not true accountability, dictate the situation," Reyes said.
The Kilusang Mayo Uno described the surrender as "worst scripted event of the year."
“Napoles’ surrender to Aquino is part of a badly-written script for an escape publicity stunt, a desperate attempt to divert public attention away from the administration’s defense of the pork barrel system,” KMU chairman Elmer Labog said.
Kabataan partylist Representative Terry Ridon called the surrender a "calculated tactic" to deflect the increasing pressure on Aquino to give up his own pork barrel.
“The public should not rest easy yet. The surrender of Janet Napoles should not deter the public from stepping up the call for the abolition of the pork barrel system, particularly presidential pork," Ridon said.
