De Lima dismayed over premature disclosure of unsigned Napoles affidavit

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Photo courtesy of De Lima’s Facebook page.

MANILA — Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima on Wednesday expressed her dismay over the premature disclosure of the unsigned affidavit of Janet Lim-Napoles that was submitted by Secretary Panfilo Lacson to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Tuesday.

De Lima said that she is not in favor of the premature disclosure to the public of the list and affidavit, especially since they are not yet signed by Napoles and that it can be considered as “no weight” as evidence.

Meanwhile, De Lima said that once she has submitted the Napoles list and affidavit in the DOJ’s possession, she would ask the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to take it easy before releasing the documents to the public.

De Lima pointed out that it is necessary that the senators should study very carefully whether they should call for a hearing and issue a subpoena to Napoles again.

De Lima maintained that she would not release the affidavit and list in her possession until such time that the “vetting process” on the information revealed by Napoles has been completed.