Now a state witness? Napoles submits testimony to DOJ

MANILA, Philippines — Suspected "pork barrel" scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles has submitted her affidavit to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who said the detained businesswoman is now willing to tell all on the multi-billion peso fund embezzlement.

De Lima said Napoles submitted her testimony before her scheduled operation at the Ospital ng Makati on Monday night.

It was earlier reported that De Lima visited Napoles at the hospital around 11 p.m. Monday and left 3 a.m.

"She will be undergoing surgery so ang pinaka-request niya, that's why I had to see her na rin, because ang sabi niya she needs to talk to us and tell what she knows before siya mag-undergo ng surgery," De Lima said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.

Related: De Lima visits, talks with Napoles at Osmak

De Lima said Napoles herself wanted to speak to her before the surgery for the removal of myoma from her uterus.

"When you go through a medical procedure, anything can happen. That's why she insisted, she really pleaded to talk to me," the justice secretary said.

De Lima did not disclose the details of Napoles' testimony, where she could have named the major players in the Priority Development Assistance Funds scam.

She said that Napoles had requested that she be accepted by the government as a witness. She said the meeting lasted for five hours.

De Lima, however, could not guarantee if Napoles could be accepted as a state witness, which could provide the embattled businesswoman full immunity from the charges.

"There's no commitment on our part to consider her as state witness because we need first to evaluate ang kanyang statement," De Lima said.

On Monday, De Lima said she prefers that Napoles becomes state witness over Jessica "Gigi" Reyes, former chief-of-staff of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

Napoles appeared at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the scandal last November, but denied all accusations. She said her wealth has been sourced from legitimate local and international businesses and not from congressional allocations.

She is currently detained for the serious illegal detention case filed against her by pork barrel scam lead whistleblower Benhur Luy, who also tagged the businesswoman as the mastermind in the fund mess.