In a petition filed yesterday afternoon before Judge Elmo Alameda of Branch 150 of the Makati City Regional Trial Court, the lawyers of Napoles, the suspected brains behind the P10 billion pork barrel scam, said she should be transferred to “safer” jail facilities like Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City and Camp Crame on Edsa.
Her lawyers reiterated their claim of a “clear danger to her life.”
Napoles, accused of maintaining a web of fake non-government organizations to divert P10 billion of pork barrel funds from government, surrendered to President Aquino on Wednesday night at Malacañang.
Napoles has been detained at the PNP National Headquarters in Camp Crame since Wednesday night, on the charge of kidnapping Benhur Luy, an aide who knew about the pork barrel scam.
Protocol
Citing territorial jurisdiction, the Makati City RTC ordered the detention of the businesswoman at the Makati City Jail.
In a one-page order, Judge Alameda said Napoles should be kept under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Makati City.
“I hereby commit to you this person of accused Janet Lim-Napoles who is charged with serious illegal detention under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code under the information filed by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore M. Villanueva which was admitted by this court on August 14, 2013, and to be kept under your custody until further orders from this court,” Alameda said in the order.
Diosfa Valencia, the branch clerk of court, said the court just followed the protocol to detain the accused at a facility, which is under its jurisdiction. “We welcome requests for transfer or to retain her at the Camp Crame if there is indeed a security concern. But as of now, the court orders her transfer to Makati City Jail,” Valencia said.
The Makati court has set the arraignment of Napoles on Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m.
A hearing on the petition filed by Napoles’ camp to Judge Alameda to inhibit himself from the case is set on Friday.
The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has finished last night its inspection of the Makati City Jail.
Senior Supt. Roberto Fajardo, CIDG-NCR chief, said “pag-uusapan pa muna” (it would be discussed first) when asked by reporters how the inspection went.
He declined to elaborate further and got on their vehicle after leaving Makati City Jail. Fajardo earlier told reporters in Camp Crame that they need to ensure the security in Makati City Jail before transferring Napoles.
No deal
Malacañang yesterday gave assurances the serious illegal detention case and other charges against Napoles would be pursued even though she voluntarily surrendered to President Aquino.
“Tuloy ang kaso…at tuloy po ang mga ibang kaso kung sakaling sasampahan si Gng. Napoles,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.
Lacierda said no deal had been made in exchange for Napoles’ surrender.
There was not even a discussion, he said, if Napoles could be a state witness.
“Yes. There’s only that to secure her (Napoles) safety,” Lacierda said when asked if there was no deal in exchange for Napoles’ surrender.
Lacierda cited the alleged threats to Napoles’ life as the reason why she decided to surrender to Aquino in Malacañang Wednesday night.
He categorically denied that Napoles has been given a special treatment as no less than the President accompanied her when she was turned over to the police.
“Yes, there’s no special treatment,” he said when sought for a categorical answer.
It was not also the first time that a president has received a surrendering fugitive, he added.
“There is a history of presidents receiving a surrendering fugitive. This is not the first time and we will list to you the instances where a sitting president has received a fugitive,” he said.
Besides, Lacierda said, Napoles felt that Aquino was the only person she could trust, citing the alleged “serious threats” on her life.
“And so, they asked that Ms. Napoles be surrendered to the President. And this being not the first time it has happened, time and again, where a sitting president has received a surrendering fugitive. This is not extraordinary,” he further said.
Lacierda said Napoles’ brother, Reynald “Jojo” Lim, who was also charged with illegal detention, might also surrender to authorities.
“I think, if I remember it right, si Ms. Napoles said hopefully the brother will also surrender,” he said.
Unlike Napoles, whose P10 million bounty had been withdrawn, Lacierda said, the P5 million reward for the arrest of the brother would stay.
“He’s at large, so the bounty exists for the brother,” the spokesman said
well-orchestrated script
Skepticism greeted Napoles’ surrender with various groups and individuals saying they could not help but think the move was part of a well-orchestrated script.
Netizens also found questionable the fact that the President himself escorted Napoles to Camp Crame.
“Noy himself escorted a fugitive. Special? Is that right? The Napoles teleserye is unfolding. Napoles is a crook, she should be treated in a humane way. But special? Hmmmm…,” activist Mae Paner, popularly known as Juana Change, said in a post on Facebook.
“Be vigilant, mga kapatid. Implement transparency and accountability. Deals? Or no deals? FOI na!,” she added.
Twitter users found it hard to believe that the President accompanied Napoles to the police.
“Ok, news have it that there’ll be no special treatment for her, but the President himself escorted her to Crame. What the heck!” Twitter user @itsmetolits said.
The militant group Anakbayan likened the surrender to a “poorly-written, telenovela-inspired script” to distract the public from the real issue of abolishing pork barrel funds.
It warned that a deal could have been struck between Napoles and the Palace to spare the President’s allies from explosive revelations.
“The question must also be asked: Is there a cover-up deal between Noynoy and Napoles to exclude Palace and allies from pork barrel scam? We should not be surprised if Napoles’ scripted surrender results in whitewash of the evidence against administration allies implicated in the pork barrel scam,” it said.
Renato Reyes of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said the latest developments seemed intended to put Mr. Aquino, under pressure to abolish all pork barrel funds, in good light.
“It’s hard not to see the carefully orchestrated dramatic surrender to Aquino and the turn over to Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and the PNP,” Reyes said.
“Seemed calculated to make the President look good even if he refuses to scrap the pork barrel system,” he added.
He said Napoles’ “terms of surrender,” and whether there was a deal stuck with her must be disclosed.
“The people must demand answers now lest political ’consideration’ and posturing, not true accountability, dictate the situation,” he said.
Kabataan party list Rep. Terry Ridon said people should be wary that the whole surrender scenario could have been stage-managed.
“The surrender seems among the ‘calculated tactics’ of the Palace to defeat the public outrage and deflect the increasing pressure on the President to give up his own pork,” Ridon said.
He said Napoles must be made to disclose all the participants in the chain of corruption of the pork barrel funds.
“The public should not rest easy yet. The surrender of Janet Napoles should not deter the public from stepping up the call for the abolition of the pork barrel system, particularly presidential pork,” he said. /INQUIRER