Napoles vows vindication in court

MANILA, Philippines - Janet Lim-Napoles will prove her innocence when she gives her tell-all account of the pork barrel fund anomaly in court.

Her lawyer, Bruce Rivera yesterday told The STAR: “We will present our case in the trial.”

However, he refused to go into details, citing the sub judice rule since the plunder and other criminal cases against Napoles and several lawmakers have been filed in the Sandiganbayan.

Rivera said they will question before the Sandiganbayan the Office of the Ombudsman’s indictment of Napoles.

They filed yesterday a motion for judicial determination of probable cause and sought the immediate dismissal of the charges, he added.

They will also appeal the anti-graft agency’s decision denying Napoles’ application for immunity from criminal suit in the fund anomaly in a motion to be filed on Monday, he said.

Rivera questioned a television news report showing supposed records of Napoles, including ledgers showing the amounts paid to lawmakers in advance.

“The reporter should show the documents because if they’re authentic, that would be tantamount to obstruction of justice,” he said.

Rivera said Napoles will continue to cooperate with the investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the Priority Development Assistance Fund racket.

“We will still help the government,” he said.

“The inclusion of her children in the cases is proof that there are no conditions that we set to help the government in the quest for truth.”

Rivera said the cooperation of Napoles disproves reports that she had requested the government to exclude her children from the cases.

They will submit documentary evidence in their possession to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to prove the claims in the two affidavits of Napoles, he added.

They are now coordinating with NBI agents for this purpose, Rivera said.