Napoles ready to tell all: de Lima

MANILA – Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles is now ready to tell everything she knows about the multi-billion peso scheme, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said, in what could be a major development since the scandal broke out almost a year ago. Napoles said she will finally speak up after remaining silent on her alleged illegal pork barrel transactions with several lawmakers and government officials, de Lima said in an interview at the Ospital ng Makati before dawn on Tuesday. "I came to see on her request, sabi niya she's ready to speak up and tell all and make an affidavit.. I agreed to talk to her on those conditions that she would tell all that she knows about the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scam,'' De Lima told ABS-CBN News. According to de Lima, Napoles made the decision to speak up before her scheduled operation. The businesswoman is set to undergo an operation on Tuesday to address her uterine cyst, according to her lawyer Faye Singson. ''She will be undergoing surgery so ang pinaka-request niya - that's why I had to see her na rin - because ang sabi she needs to talk to us and tell what she knows before siya mag-undergo ng surgery,'' de Lima said. De Lima said Napoles has also asked if she could be turned into a state witness, but the Justice secretary said she has not made any promises to Napoles yet. "There's no commitment on our part to consider her as state witness because we need first to evaluate ang kanyang statement,'' she said.