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Senate President Franklin Drilon (center) with House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Makati Business Club Chairman Ramon del Rosario. (photo from Senate PRIB/JV)

PH Senate President Firm on Denying Napoles Subpoena

Posted by Philippine Correspondent September 30, 2013
Senate President Franklin Drilon (center) with House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Makati Business Club Chairman Ramon del Rosario. (photo from Senate PRIB/JV)
Senate President Franklin Drilon (center) with House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Makati Business Club Chairman Ramon del Rosario. (photo from Senate PRIB/JV)

Janet Lim Napoles, the Filipino businesswoman who allegedly masterminded the Php10-billion pork barrel scam, will not appear before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Senate President Franklin Drilon earlier refused to sign the subpoena issued to Napoles by Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III.

Sen. Drilon said he will, for now, take the advice of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to not have Napoles testify before the senate committee.

“It was out of prudence and caution that I decided to defer to the advice and recommendation of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales not to require, at this time, Janet Lim-Napoles appearance before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee,” he said in a speech to the Makati Business Club.

He said that the Ombudsman only asked him to temporarily defer Napoles’ appearance before the senate.

“The Ombudsman advised us to defer only ‘at this time’ not permanently, the appearance of Ms. Napoles in the Senate hearings,” he said.

Sen. Guingona had earlier blasted the Ombudsman’s advice, saying that it undermined the senate’s power, which he said was above that of her office.
Sen. Drilon said, “It is not a question of which institution is supreme.”
“While my decision appears unpopular to media, and a public eager to see Napoles grilled by the Blue Ribbon Committee, I have decided on the side of caution,” he said.
“What is at stake here is the ability of the Office of the Ombudsman to prosecute the PDAF misuse cases against Napoles with dispatch and without delay,” he added
The Ombudsman has refused to change her advice to rule out a Napoles appearance to the legislative body, but has stated that she will not override the senate should a majority of them vote to summon Napoles.
In her letter to Sen. Drilon, the Ombudsman cited rules of her office that disallow the appearance of witnesses in public hearings to avoid prejudice.
Sen. Drilon said the fate of the country is now dependent on the ongoing investigations into the alleged misuse of the pork barrel, formally called the Priority Development Assistance Fund, into dummy organizations set up by Napoles with the aid of certain legislators.
He said he is “confident that in time we can purge the culture of corruption.”
(with reports from The Philippine Star and The Philippine Inquirer)
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