Press Release
March 6, 2014

MIRIAM: JPE SHIFTING BLAME TO GIGI

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, during Senate interpellation of Dennis Cunanan yesterday, in effect said that Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and his wife Cristina, are "jointly trying to paint Atty. Gigi Reyes as a "stand-alone culprit" in the ongoing P10 billion pork barrel scam.

Last March 5, newspapers carried reports that Cristina admitted she tried to divorce her husband because of his long-term relationship with Gigi, who was his chief of staff and alleged mistress, until she left the country after both she and Enrile were charged with plunder.

Santiago emphasized that both the prior witness Ruby Tuason and yesterday's witness Cunanan, alleged that they did not talk about pork barrel kickbacks with Enrile, but only with Gigi. Despite Enrile's meticulous avoidance of any direct conversation about the pork barrel with Tuason and Cunanan, Santiago argued that Enrile was part of a "criminal conspiracy to plunder" and was therefore guilty, because in conspiracy "the guilt of one is the guilt of all."

Santiago cited a Supreme Court ruling that if a person who is part of a conspiracy claims he is not a conspirator, he should at least prove that he tried to prevent the crime.

"Under the Supreme Court ruling, the issue that can easily be answered is whether both Tuason and Cunanan were convinced that Enrile tried to prevent Gigi from committing plunder, and tried to prevent her from accepting kickbacks from Janet Napoles. But Tuason and Cunanan could not remember any instance when Enrile tried to prevent Gigi from talking to Napoles," she said.

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Encl.: (Santiago's interpellation on Enrile's alleged scheme to avoid criminal liability by pointing to Gigi Reyes as the sole culprit.)

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