JANET Lim Napoles on Thursday maintained her innocence in the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, pointing to Benhur Luy and the other whistleblowers as behind the anomaly.
In a 29-page motion for reconsideration filed with the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division, Napoles urged the anti-graft court to overturn its previous decision denying her bail plea.
She insisted that Luy and the other witnesses, such as Gertrudes Luy, Merlina Suñas and Marina Sula, perpetrated plunder and graft.
“Benhur [Luy] and the other whistleblowers are the ones in cahoots with each other. And to save them from their wrongdoings, they conveniently seek to blame accused Janet Lim Napoles for their unlawful activity,” Napoles’ motion read.
“Honorable Court seriously erred in holding that the non-government groups [allegedly used as conduit in the PDAF scam of Senator Estrada] were owned and control(led) by Accused Napoles… It bears to emphasize that Accused Napoles was not a party to any Memorandum of Agreement entered into by the NGOs involved in this case. Neither was she an incorporator, member or officers of the same.”
The camp of Napoles said Luy and her companions as well as their relatives were the presidents and incorporators of the fake foundations involved in the pork barrel fund scam.
“On the other hand, the documents of the prosecution will show the active involvement and participation of whistleblowers… It is apparent and obvious that Benhur and the other whistleblowers were the ones directly and personally responsible for the said alleged anomalous transactions.”
“The AMLC’s findings are based only on what was written on the withdrawal slips. The supposed bank employee who made the alleged notation of ‘confirmation by JLN’ was never examined nor questioned by the AMLC, neither did the prosecution bother to present the bank employees to prove the same,” Napoles said.
The Office of the Ombudsman charged Napoles with multiple counts of plunder and graft raps before the Sandiganbayan as behind the pork barrel fund scam involving Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada.