De Lima submits Napoles’ pork scam list to Senate

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima submitted on Thursday, May 15, a list of names fromJanet Lim Napoles’ affidavit to Senator TG Guingona, the chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

The hot list

Earlier this week, the Senate had issued a subpoena Napoles’ affidavit. The document is believed to contain a comprehensive list of the names of the lawmakers whom Napoles claims participated in the pork barrel scam operations.

Guingona revealed that De Lima had initially asked for a one-week extension on the submission of the documents. Guingona, however, said that De Lima had to submit the “pork scam list.” Meanwhile, he gave her a one-week extension on the submission of the narrative affidavit.

The signed Napoles list is essentially the same as Lacson’s—except for some handwritten names of some congressmen, agencies, and agents.

Note: We’re posting a photo of the list below and we shall be replacing it with a clearer image once it is available.

Chaos and confusion

Prior to turning over the list, De Lima had told the public that the DOJ needed more time to validate the claims made by Napoles.However, Guingona had said, “I think it’s time already. In the spirit of transparency, the list should be brought out—and it’s not only the list in the hands of Secretary De Lima, but also the list of former senator Ping Lacson, so there’s point of comparison if you want.”

Lacson had turned over what he claimed was an unsigned copy of the Napoles affidavit to the Senate on Tuesday, March 13.

De Lima had dismissed the affidavit from Lacson as a “worthless piece of paper.”

Initial hesitation

De Lima had said that she was disappointed that the unsigned list and affidavit were released without evidence that would back up the allegations.

When people were insisting that she make public the affidavit of Napoles, De Lima had said, “Please huwag ninyo po akong i-pressure. Kinukumpleto pa rin nga yung statement dahil may mga detalye pang kailangang malaman.”

De Lima explained then that the process of putting into writing Napoles’ testimony is still ongoing. At the same time, she added, there’s a vetting process being undertaken by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and DOJ to verify the details in Napoles’ story.