MANILA – The lawyer of whistle-blower Benhur Luy believes businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles can be tapped as a state witness only if she proves that she was only used by other people in the P10 billion pork barrel scam. Lawyer Levito Baligod said that as of the moment, he does not see how Napoles can become a state witness especially since she is a principal by direct participation in the alleged scheme to steal billions of pesos in lawmakers’ funds over a 10-year period. “I respect the statement of Secretary Mar Roxas but legally I doubt if Mrs. Napoles will be eligible to become a state witness because one requirement of the law to become such is you cannot be the most guilty. Based so far on the evidence that we have submitted to the [National Bureau of Investigation], we see that Mrs. Napoles is a principal by direct participation. Therefore, she is not eligible to become a state witness. Again, eventually it will be the discretion of the state to determine if she is eligible,” he said in an interview on ANC's Headstart. “Pagka sinabi niya na meron pang ibang tao na mas mataas sa kanya and she was used merely as an instrument by these other, more powerful people na talagang mastermind sa scam na ito…Until and unless she can prove na ginamit lamang siya as an instrument to perpetrate or to commit the crime, hindi siya ma ka-qualify as a state witness,” he added. ANC Headstart, August 29, 2013