MALACAÑANG on Thursday, August 2, welcomed the United States' (US) move to prosecute alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles for money laundering, saying the indictment clearly proves her wrongdoing.
"We view the United States federal grand jury indictment against Mrs. Janet Lim-Napoles as a positive development, as it bolsters the government’s case against her before the Sandiganbayan," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in a statement.
"The charge of money laundering against Mrs. Napoles and her co-defendants shows that there is reason to believe that they attempted to retain the ill-gotten gains from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam," he added.
Napoles, as well as five of her family members, are facing criminal charges in the US for purportedly laundering around $20 million in Philippine public funds.
Napoles; her children Jo Christine, James Christopher, and Jeane Catherine; her brother Reynaldo and his wife Ana Marie have been indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit money laundering, domestic money laundering, and international money laundering.
Currently detained at the Camp Bagong Diwa detention center in Taguig City, Napoles is facing charges before the Sandiganbayan office for five counts of plunder, graft, and other cases, in connection with the controversial of P10-billion PDAF scam.
Roque said Napoles's indictment would help the Philippine government retrieve the public funds she stole.
"With the help of US authorities, who have been in continuous coordination with our government, the funds that Mrs. Napoles and her co-defendants attempted to hide away will soon be returned for the benefit of the Filipino people," the Palace official said.
Napoles was reportedly behind the misuse of the PDAF allocation of former senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jingggoy Estrada, and Ramon Revilla Jr.
The US Department of Justice said Tuesday, July 31, the indicted individuals, along with 20 lawmakers and other government officials, had "converted to their own benefit millions of dollars in Priority Development Assistance Fund and transmitted approximately $20 million from that scheme into the US."
Roque said the latest development would drive the Duterte government to hunt down all others involved in the PDAF scam.
"As more of Mrs. Napoles’ schemes come to light, it becomes imperative to charge all those who illegally profited from her transactions, regardless of their position or political affiliation," the Palace official said.
In February, former Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II granted Napoles partial state protection, in an effort to bare the truth with regard to the controversial pork barrel scheme.
But incumbent Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra ended Napoles's provisional admission into the government's witness protection program on May 25, "as there has been no further claim of threats to her personal security." (SunStar Philippines