Interviewed by ANC on Monday, Napoles’ legal counsel Bruce Rivera said the names of the other lawmakers will be included in an “amended list” that they would submit to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday.
Rivera, however, said he was “not sure” if the three senators whose names will be added were former or incumbent.
Asked if other Cabinet officials will also be added on the amended list, Rivera said: “Wala yata. I am not sure. Ang sure, senators at congressmen may madadagdag.”
In the same interview, Rivera apologized to Senator JV Ejercito, a neophyte senator, for the inclusion of his name on the official list, a copy of which De Lima handed over to the Senate blue ribbon committee last Thursday.
“It was really an unfortunate error. We were making a list (and) Mrs. Napoles is making fond of side comments, like situation ni Sen. Jinggoy [Estrada] and Senator JV. It was like a personal thing. Kasi nagkekwento lang si Mrs. Napoles tungkol sa dalawa, nasulat sya,” Rivera explained.
He said Ejercito’s name was inadvertently included on the list by the encoder.
“Later on, nung pinrint out na ang list for her to sign it.. Ito nangyari, she was asked to read it and said ‘Bakit nandito to, wala to,'” Rivera recalled Napoles as saying.
“Nagkamali ang kampo namin. We were apologetic… It looks suspicious. And we apologize to Sen JV for that,” he added.
On the list De Lima submitted to the Senate, 10 incumbent senators as well as former Senator Manuel Villar and the late Senator Robert Barbers were included. They were:
Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr.
Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada
Juan Ponce Enrile
Vincente Sotto III
Loren Legarda
Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III
Manuel Villar
Alan Peter Cayetano
Robert Barbers
Francis “Chiz” Escudero
JV Ejercito (as San Juan representative)
In the ANC interview, Rivera also said Napoles no longer included names of the lawmakers’ chiefs of staff on the list, because the investigators apparently asked for the names of the senators and congressmen only.
Asked why Napoles suddenly decided to come up with an “additional” list, Rivera explained that records of the transactions involving the fund scam were voluminous.
“[When] it is a long list, you tend to forget. When she checked her records, nakita nya na may naka-deal pala siyang ganito,” Rivera said.
“Ayaw naman naming maparatangan kami na we omitted someone because of negligence. We called De Lima and sabi may madadagdagan. She said okay lang,” he added.
Rivera also revealed that apart from Napoles’ list, affidavit, and copy of whistleblower Benhur Luy’s digital files, the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation also have a video recording of their interviews with Napoles.
“They want to make sure Mrs Napoles is not being coerced. That’s the reason I was there (too),” he said. —Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News
