Lawyer to seek lifting of freeze order on Napoles bank accounts

Janet Lim Napoles and Atty. Lorna Kapunan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, legal counsel of Janet Lim-Napoles, said Tuesday she is set to file within the week a motion before the Court of Appeals seeking to lift the freeze order on the bank accounts of the businesswoman and her family.

Kapunan said she will question the basis of the rule, noting that if it was prompted by the Commission on Audit report, she will also call for the freeze order on the bank accounts of senators and congressman implicated in the same report.

“That is called equal protection of the law,” she said.

Moreover, Kapunan asked that if the basis was the COA report, “why weren’t the 82 so-called bogus non-government organizations allegedly involved in the PDAF…why weren’t they all frozen?”

Kapunan also noted that there is no plunder case yet filed against Napoles, and the serious illegal detention case filed against her client does not involve kidnap for ransom.

“We are preparing now a petition to lift the freeze order because this order can only be issued in connection to the plunder case…Where is the money involved in the serious illegal detention [case]?” Kapunan said.

Napoles wasn’t even mentioned in the COA report, the lawyer pointed out.

“Can you say that the family cannot eat? She has young kids … They cannot go to school. They cannot even have gasoline for their cars … But grocery for their homes … What is the basis for this?”

Kapunan noted that even the employees of Napoles are no longer receiving their salary because of the freeze order.

Kapunan said Napoles wasn’t able to make appropriate steps to counter the allegations when she went into hiding.

CA earlier issued a freeze order on the bank accounts of Napoles, her family members, other relatives and staff, as well as NGOs identified with Napoles.

The order is effective for six months.