SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday said he supports any investigation that will uncover the truth about the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
In a statement, he said he felt compelled to speak up lest his silence “in the face of the most outrageous allegations” be taken against him. He urged Janet Lim Napoles, the woman at the center of pork barrel scam, to “reveal the whole truth no matter who is hurt, as only the truth will set me free.”
His nemesis Sen Miriam Defensor Santiago accused him of being the mastermind of the pork barrel scam that has held the attention of the nation for many months now since July this year.
Santiago urged Napoles to tell all that she knew and to name names. “Kung ayaw mong ikaw ang most guilty, dapat ngayon pa lang sabihin mo sino ang most guilty. Ang taong yan, nakikinig, ang daming pera.” (If you do not want to be the most guilty, as early as now, you should say who is most guilty. That person is listening. He has lots of money.)
She also tried to persuade Napoles to turn state witness. “You will not escape punishment unless you turn state witness. Plunder is punishable by 20 to 40 years imprisonment. Ninety ka na paglabas mo, kasing-tanda mo na si Tanda. Pinoproteksyunan mo ang tao na siya ang pinaka-guilty.” (You will turn 90 and be as old as Tanda. You are protecting him when he is the most guilty.)
Innocence
Enrile reiterated his innocence, as well as that of his staff members and his office. This was in apparent reference to his chief of staff Gigi Reyes, who has been accused of plunder, along with Enrile.
In his statement, Enrile said that members of the committee who used the Blue Ribbon hearing to make “wild-eyed charges, baseless assumptions, and false accusations” converted the investigation into a “parody of justice.”
He added, “They should lead the facts to a just conclusion instead of coralling their own predilections into a pre-ordained conclusion.”
In a previous statement, Enrile said, “If any of my PDAF or pork barrel funds can be proven to have gone to my own pocket, I am ready to surrender whatever assets I and my family own, any or all of it if they want. If I were to choose something of value to leave to my family when I depart from this world, I would choose to leave honor and a good name, nothing else.”- Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.