MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Malacañang said that it would leave up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the re-evaluation of the extent of involvement of so-called pork barrel queen Janet Lim Napoles in the controversial pork barrel scam.
In a radio interview, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that it was the discretion of the DOJ whether to place Napoles under the government’s Witness Protection Program or not.
He said President Rodrigo Duterte would not be interfering in this case.
“The President is not interfering in everything that is happening in all departments of government. Otherwise, the President will have no time to serve the country,” Roque said.
“And just to make it clear, she is not yet formally placed under witness protection. A protective custody means prosecutors are studying whether she should be placed under WPP,” Roque said.
Last week, the DOJ provisionally placed Napoles under the department’s WPP.