No show yet for Napoles in Makati court to acknowledge arrest order

Janet Lim-Napoles. EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines — Less than 24 hours after Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind in the P10 billion “pork barrel” scam, surrendered to President Benigno Aquino III, she and her lawyer have yet to appear before a local court that issued the arrest warrant against her.

Judge Elmo Alameda of Branch 150 of the Makati regional trial court said Thursday the court was still uncertain if the camp of Napoles would make an appearance to acknowledge the arrest order.

“At this point in time, I do not know if they are going to return the arrest warrant. We’ll see. It’s 10:30 already but they’re still not here yet,” he said.

Napoles was served the warrant,  along with brother Reynald “Jojo” Lim, for serious illegal detention against principal whistle-blower Benhur K. Luy.

Alameda told the media to await for further proceedings once Napoles shows up in court.

On Wednesday night, Napoles, along with several legislators, was accused of channeling the “pork barrel” or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to ghost projects through bogus non-government organizations.

Meanwhile, the manhunt for Napoles’ brother is ongoing and a P5 million reward is being offered for information that will lead to his arrest.

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Janet Napoles and the pork barrel scam