Santiago then advised Napoles it would serve her better if she became state’s witness and identified the real mastermind, alluding to Enrile who, she stressed, was the Senate president at the time the questioned pork transactions occurred. Further, the senator warned the Basilan native that she was dealing with “murderous†individuals, a point she tried to emphasize by recalling Enrile’s role as defense minister during Martial Law.
“Tell the truth before the senators affected have you assassinated,†she told Napoles without batting an eyelash.
Whistleblowers had alleged that Enrile, along with Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla Jr. were among the lawmakers involved in the pork barrel scam. Estrada had flown to the US for a supposed medical examination of his wife, while Enrile and Revilla did not attend the hearing.
In the latter part of her questioning, and in a methodical way, Santiago demolished Napoles’ earlier claims about her financial fortune and used it to build on her assertion that Enrile not Napoles is the real mastermind behind the scam. Napoles was apparently clueless that she had become Santiago’s ammunition against the former Senate president, now the minority leader.
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