'Very vital info' from Ruby Tuason: DOJ

MANILA - Ruby Tuason, one of the accused in the plunder case over the pork barrel scam, is sharing "very vital information" about the scandal, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Friday. De Lima said she is coordinating with the Ombudsman about the inclusion of Tuason in the witness protection program after she volunteered information about the scam. "She shared very vital information. She is under the witness protection program...She is a state witness now albeit under provisional coverage pending further evaluation," she added. She added that Mrs. Tuason "committed to return certain amount, which was her share for referring projects to the lawmakers that she implicated in the scam." She said that under the WPP, there is a grant of immunity but this is still under evaluation. De Lima said personnel of the Department of Justice-National Bureau of Investigation met with Tuason in the US where she executed her sworn statement on the scam. This was after the DOJ received feelers from Tuason's camp early January. "Sinundo po siya ngayong Linggo...Noong February 4 sa United States, pumunta sila sa Philippien Consdular office para i-authenticate yung question-and-answer sworn statement," she said. A former social secretary of Estrada, Tuason has been linked to both the P10 billion pork barrel scam of Napoles and the Malampaya fund scam. Whistle-blowers have identified Tuason as the one who allegedly received kickbacks for Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile. One whistle-blower, former JLN Corporation finance clerk Marina Sula, told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, that she brought a bag of money to Tuason's house in 2011. ANC, February 7, 2014