Release Napoles affidavit now, Lacson urged
Volume XVII NO 27 (April 26 to May 2, 2014)
LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… the truth shall make you free…” (Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, in John 8:32, the Holy Bible).
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RELEASE NAPOLES AFFIDAVIT NOW, LACSON URGED: If Rehabilitation Secretary and former Senator Panfilo Lacson is really concerned that the list of congressmen and senators who have been implicated in the “tell all” affidavit of Janet Lim Napoles would not be sanitized to remove the names of the allies of President Aquino, then he should do the most obvious thing to do to prevent such “sanitation” from happening.
As my co-anchor Vic Somintac and I urged last Thursday, April 24, 2014, during our Mondays to Fridays 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. program “Tambalang Batas at Somintac” over radio station DZEC, 1062 kHz, Lacson should now immediately release the details of the affidavit of Napoles which was given to him, especially the names of the lawmakers and the other officials who were linked by her to the P10 billion pork scam.
Lacson owes it not just to the Filipino people to disclose right away the contents of the Napoles affidavit, but more so to himself if he wants to maintain his claim as a “no-nonsense, anti-pork barrel, and fearless crusader” against graft and corruption and criminality, and especially to God, who will ultimately judge him and all mankind.
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NAPOLES AFFIDAVIT ADMISSIBLE AS EVIDENCE: There is no legal obstacle to Lacson’s releasing the contents of the Napoles affidavit, even if, as he claimed, his copy was not signed by her, has not been notarized, and is actually wanting in many other details. In fact, that affidavit, even if unsigned and unnotarized and still incomplete, can be admitted as evidence in any court proceeding.
We must remember that it was Napoles herself and her family which submitted it to Lacson, in an attempt to disclose the details of the P10 billion pork scam. It was the Napoles family which sought out Lacson for this purpose. It was the Napoles family which prepared the affidavit, consisting of about one-fourth ream of coupon bond (more or less 125 pages, if one ream consists of 500 pages or pieces).
Then, the details of the Napoles affidavit given to Lacson came from the Napoles family. In addition, supporting documents and other evidence, including a USB containing a phone conversation involving a public official, were also submitted by them to Lacson. In short, the affidavit contains factual details which only Janet Napoles and her family could know, so that, ultimately, that affidavit contains the truth about the case.
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FILIPINOS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW: In using the Napoles unsigned and unnotarized affidavit as evidence, Lacson will not be bound by the hearsay rule in evidence. This is because of the fact that the affidavit contains admissions against Napoles’ interest, which is an exception to the rule that a person can testify only on facts that he has personal knowledge of, and not of facts which came or he merely heard from another person.
What is more, the affidavit could also be admitted in court, even if unsigned and unnotarized, as “part of the res gestae”, which is to say, a narration or statement of facts made in the course of an event, incident, or on the occasion of a raging controversy.
Withal, Lacson should now release to the public the full affidavit of Napoles. It is to the greater interest of truth and public well-being that this should be done. The people has a right to know what Napoles stated in that affidavit, particularly her list of lawmakers and other officials who took part in plundering our nation. Everyone who got tainted by this scam must be unmasked before the Filipino people.
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REMINDERS: Please tune in: “Tambalang Batas at Somintac sa DZEC”, at 1062 kHz on the AM band, Mondays to Fridays, at 6 a.m.; “Kakampi Mo Ang Batas sa Radyo Trabungko FM”, at 103.7 mHz in Don Carlos, Bukidnon, Mondays to Fridays, at 7 a.m.; and “Kakampi Mo Ang Batas sa DYKA” at 801 kHz on the AM band (Panay Island), Mondays to Fridays, at 10 a.m.
