Palace welcomes Napoles arraignment

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang welcomed the arraignment on Monday of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles on illegal detention charges filed against her by pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy.

“Mrs. Napoles has been arraigned, this is a step forward to her case,” said Lacierda in a briefing at the Palace on Monday.

Lacierda said that Malacañang would not meddle in addressing the security concerns voiced by Napoles who was detained in Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

“I would assume that the court would ask the security agencies as to which would be the best venue to conduct the trial, and we leave it with the courts because they would know better if Mrs. Napoles’ trip from Laguna to Makati (to attend her court hearings) would pose a security threat to her,” said Lacierda.

“That would be based on the assessment of the security officials, which would give their assessment to the court, and the court will decide based on their assessment–of the security personnel.”

“We will defer to the judgment of the DOJ (Department of Justice) and to its prosecutors,” said Lacierda.