MANILA — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Wednesday that they will study the provisional coverage of the Witness Protection Program (WPP) of the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles that will end this month.
Guevarra said WPP coverage of Napoles will expire on May 26 after three months since she was admitted to the program last February.
“After that, we will re-evaluate whether her admission in the WPP should be extended or terminated,” he told reporters.
Under Republic Act 6981 or the Witness Protection Act, before a person is admitted into the WPP, he or she shall execute a sworn statement describing in detail the manner in which the offense was committed and his or her participation.
Among the requirements of the law for a WPP applicant to qualify as state witness is that he or she must be the least guilty of the alleged crime committed.
Guevarra said that he would look into Napoles’ eligibility as state witness in the pork barrel cases based on the affidavit she submitted to the Department of Justice where she implicated more names in the controversy.
“Napoles’ provisional admission to the WPP covers security protection for witness duty only. Her request for transfer to a warehouse has been repeatedly denied by the Sandiganbayan, which has jurisdiction and control over her person,” Guevarra said.
Former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II confirmed Napoles’ admission into the WPP after she executed an affidavit which provided more details on the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund last February 27. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
