Is Ruby Tuason a Trojan horse from Enrile camp?

MANILA, Philippines - Could it be that socialite Ruby Tuason is a Trojan horse out to derail the  filing of plunder complaint and overturn the public outrage against  Senate minority leader Juan Ponce Enrile?

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV expressed this possibility Friday over Tuason’s testimony, noting how she tried to withhold information or evade questions regarding her dealings with Enrile as well as the latter’s former chief of staff, Jesicca “Gigi” Reyes.

“I think the game plan now is for them to find a way to downgrade the case to be filed, make it bailable so that they will not be detained.  They’ll use it as a leverage to hostage the government,” Trillanes said.

According to the senator, Tuason’s claims that she merely delivered P9 million in kickbacks in 2008 smacks of attempts to derail the case.  “It is way below the threshold amount for plunder,” Trillanes said.  P50 million is the threshold amount for plunder.

Trillanes thinks that Estrada is being dropped by Enrile camp in light of the latest developments. “It is unfortunate for Sen. Estrada but it seems that Tuason is out to save Sen. Enrile but not Sen. Estrada,” Trillanes said in Filipino.

“It was pretty obvious that she was pinning down Jinggoy and saving Enrile.  What this means is, laglagan na.  It’s every man for himself.  In this case, it is unfortunate that Sen. Estrada is being left out,”  the senator added.

Estrada, in an interview Thursday, cited inconsistencies on Tuason's testimonies.  He added Tuason will do everything to escape long detention, even to the point of putting to waste years of friendship and betraying trusted confidants.

Asked if he thinks Tuason as a credible witness, Trillanes said  Tuason can be credible because she is an insider but she needs to spill the beans more to bolster the allegations of pork barrel fund misuse.

Tuason showed instances of uncertainty when asked about Enrile and Reyes during the Blue Blue Ribbon hearing hursday, to the disappointment of some senators.

As far as the senator is concerned, Tuason missed the opportunity  of proving to the public that she should be made a state witness.

Unlike main whistleblower Benhur Luy who provided many details of how his aunt Janet Lim Napoles ran the pork barrel scam, Trillanes said Tuason was reluctant when asked about circumstances about Reyes and Enrile’s relationship and why the former Senate president would pick her up after their meetings.

At times, Tuason would not want to remember details.  “There were loopholes,”  said Trillanes, challenging Tuason to take a lie detector test to disprove doubts on her credibility.

“Tuason is the go-between. Her job is to check confirmation first from Sen. Enrile. Why would she transact hundreds of millions worth of money with Atty. Gigi? How sure is she that Sen. Enrile will receive it?,” he asked.

Doubts raised on Tuason lawyer

Trillanes also raised doubts on the background of Tuason’s lawyer, Dennis Manalo.

A brief background check on Manolo showed that he has long been a partner of the Siguion-Reyna, Montecillo and Ongsiako law firm.  He also shared the public spotlight when he became part of the defense panel during the impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona in 2012. 

The late Leonardo Siguion-Reyna founded the firm.  Siguion-Reyna is the  husband of Armida Sigioun-Reyna, a half sister of  Enrile.

"When I dug deeper, my suspicions grew. I think one of the layers of Miss Ruby Tuason used to be part of the Ponce law firm, Atty. Dennis Manalo. I have yet to validate that information but I got it from credible sources. I think we have a problem there, conflict of interest at the very least and collusion at most," he said.

Manalo made headlines also when he acted as lawyer for actor Vhong Navarro who filed charges against businessman Cedric Lee,  model Deniece Cornejo and several others after Navarro was beaten up in a Taguig condominium last month.

As far as Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is concerned, Tuason is credible enough to pin down Enrile for conspiring with his former chief of staff and pork barrel operator, Janet Lim Napoles, to siphon millions from the senator’s pork barrel funds.

Miriam: Tuason proves conspiracy between pork scam players

Santiago has lectured that Enrile’s presence during the meetings between Tuason and Reyes is “sufficient to prove conspiracy.”

During the hearing, Santiago pointed out an entry into Tuason’s affidavit, “Atty. Gigi Reyes would pick up the money alone.  I remember occasions that Senator Juan Ponce Enrile would join us, when we are almost done, for a cup of coffee.”

In answer to question No. 45, Santiago quoted Tuason’s answer: “He did not stay long. After coffee, he would leave and sometimes he would come to pick-up Atty. Gigi Reyes.”

Santiago said the mere presence of Enrile, even if he did not say anything, establishes that he was a conspirator in the scam.

Santiago cited the provisions of the Civil Code, Art. 1371, which says that: “In order to judge the intention of the contracting parties, their contemporaneous and subsequent acts shall be principally considered.”

In further proving her legal expertise, Santiago cited the Revised Penal Code, Art. 8: “A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.”

“To hold an accused guilty as a co-principal by reason of conspiracy, it must be shown that he had performed an overt act in pursuance or furtherance of the conspiracy,” she said, citing the case Petso v. People, 262 SCRA 518 (1996).

“Such an act may consist of active participation in the actual commission of the crime itself, or of moral assistance to his co-conspirators by being present at the time of the commission of the crime or by asserting moral ascendancy over the other co-conspirators to execute or implement the conspiracy.”

Santiago also noted that, under People v. Camaddo, 217 SCRA 162 (1993), “well-settled is the rule that it is not indispensable that a co-conspirator should take a direct hand in the commission of a felony.”