Maniolas

The Senate blue ribbon committee will not immediately reinvite alleged pork barrel mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles to its probe on the supposed anomaly for her tell-all. In a statement Thursday, Senator Teofisto Guingona III, blue ribbon committee chairman, said his panel “has opted to take the prudent course” on reinviting Napoles. “We will wait for Secretary [Leila] De Lima to finish documenting the supposed disclosure of Janet Lim-Napoles. Upon receipt of the affidavit of Janet Lim-Napoles by the Blue Ribbon Committee, the same will be evaluated before we make the final decision,” Guingona said. Santiago earlier asked Guingona to reinvite or summon Napoles to the inquiry on the alleged pork barrel scam after the controversial businesswoman signified her intention to come clean on the supposed anomaly.  On Tuesday, de Lima said Napoles corroborated in her tell-all the whistleblowers’ testimonies on the alleged involvement of Senators Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile in the supposed anomaly. Napoles and the three senators are currently facing plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly pocketing public funds from the alleged pork barrel anomaly. Last November, Napoles appeared before the committee but clammed up by repeatedly invoking her right against self-incrimination.  ‘Why wait?’ Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, an ex-officio member of the blue ribbon committee, however said that he “respectfully disagrees” with Guingona’s decision to delay reinviting Napoles. “Once she [Napoles] is physically well, why wait? It is our obligation na malaman agad kung ano ang sasabihin Read More …

Retired Supreme Court Justice Lorenzo Relova passed away Thursday at age 98, the high court’s public information office said. In posts on its Twitter account, the SC PIO said Relova, born on Jan. 20, 1916, served as the high court’s 103rd associate justice. The high court said Relova served from May 14, 1982 to Jan. 19, 1986. He taught law at the Ateneo Law School for more than four decades, it added. Relova was inducted to the Professors of Law Hall of Fame in 2012, the SC said. The SC said Relova’s remains will lie in state at Magallanes church starting at 4 p.m. Friday. –Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

Administration allies will not be spared if they are tagged by alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in her testimony, Malacañang assured. “Our focus here is the quest for truth and the President… has time and again said that the evidence itself must provide the direction,” Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said during a press conference on Wednesday. He issued the statement after Justice Sec. Leila De Lima said Napoles has committed to “come clean” and “tell all” about the alleged fund scam. It was then later on reported that 19 former and incumbent senators — excluding Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. — were mentioned in the affidavit Napoles submitted to De Lima. Coloma, however, reiterated that the filing of cases will not be affected by the identities of the accused. “We have time and again pointed out that the symbol of justice in this country is a blindfolded lady carrying the scales of justice, and that means that there is no fear or favor in the exercise of our responsibility to bring to the bar of justice those who are involved in the alleged misuse of public funds,” he said. —KG, GMA News