Miriam blasts Lacson after alleged 'pork' list inclusion

MANILA, Philippines — After rehab czar Panfilo Lacson claimed that her name was on the list of officials implicated by Janet Lim-Napoles, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago again denied that she was involved in the pork barrel scam.

In a statement on Tuesday, Santiago responded to Lacson who earlier confirmed that she was included on the list allegedly given by Napoles' relatives identifying the other lawmakers who benefitted from the multibillion-peso scheme.

"For the record, I never had dealings with Napoles. The Napoles list, if unsigned, has no evidentiary value at all," Santiago said in a statement on Tuesday.

Aside from Santiago, Lacson also said "yes" when asked by ABS-CBN newscast Bandila that Senators Francis Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano and Gringo Honasan were on the list of Napoles.

Read: Lacson identifies 5 officials on Napoles, Luy lists

But Santiago only belittled the Napoles list held by Lacson as she questioned the integrity of the former senator and Philippine National Police chief.

"I repeat, Lacson is an attack dog of Enrile. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that to allege is not proof. Where is the evidence, as defined in the Rules of Court?" Santiago asked.

To point out that anyone can just make lists, Santiago even poked fun at Lacson's gender, saying he is on a list called "Closeted gays or bisexuals in public service."

"I was given names, and I was requested to say 'Yes' or 'No' on whether the person was truly in the list. When the name Pinky Lacson was called, I said 'Yes','" Santiago said.

The feisty senator earlier claimed that Lacson may be part of a "vast, costly, and sinister disinformation operation" to distract public attention away from the prosecution of the officials who were already found liable for plunder.

"The principals in this massive psywar operation are: Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile; his former chief of staff Gigi Reyes; and Enrile's ally and attack dog Panfilo Lacson," Santiago said in a speech last month.

Santiago reiterated that she wants to get whistle-blower Benhur Luy's list of officials involved in the scam.

Compared to Lacson's "spurious documents inadmissible in evidence," Santiago said Luy's list was "substantiated by documents and details."

Read: Another list: Miriam wants Luy's testimony tagging 200 people

Meanwhile, Escudero also downplayed his alleged inclusion on the supposed Napoles list held by Lacson.

In his Twitter account, Escudero said he never allocated his pork barrel funds to the bogus foundations of Napoles.

He said the businesswoman was just trying to sow confusion in implicating other officials.