Court enters not guilty plea on Napoles’ behalf

MISTY MONDAY MOTORCADE. A police convoy, escorting a vehicle bearing alleged PDAF scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, travels along South Luzon Expressway from Laguna province to Makati City for her arraignment at the Regional Trial Court. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

She wore a bulletproof vest and a helmet when she came to the courtroom on Monday to be arraigned. Her hands were also wrapped with a roll of cloth to hide her handcuffs.

As an added precaution, police also cordoned off a portion of the corridor leading to the courtroom to keep the media away.

After more than three weeks of detention in a police camp, businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles appeared in public for the first time to be arraigned on a charge of serious illegal detention of whistle-blower Benhur Luy, her cousin.

Napoles remained silent when asked to enter her plea by Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150, court officials said.

Automatically, the court entered a not guilty plea for her, according to the officials.

Luy—Napoles’ cousin—is a major witness in the case of plunder, malversation, bribery and corruption filed against Napoles and 37 other persons in connection with a  P10-billion pork barrel scam. The others accused include three senators and several congressmen.

Under heavy guard

Despite heavy rains and a last-minute appeal from the Napoles camp to hold the court proceedings in Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna province—where Napoles is detained—the Makati court went ahead with the arraignment.

Napoles was under heavy guard all the way from Fort Sto. Domingo to the 14th-floor courtroom.

Outside the courtroom, at least 20 uniformed police officers stood guard to keep the media at bay. Members of the Makati police were also spread out outside the City Hall compound.

Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, Napoles’ counsel, said the curtains inside the courtroom were closed for possible snipers.

Calm and relaxed

Reporters were not allowed to cover the 30-minute arraignment since the courtroom was already full, clerk of court Diosfa Valencia said.

BULLETPROOF VEST. Janet Lim-Napoles arrives at the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 under heavy guard for her arraignment on the serious-illegal-detention charge. RICHARD A. REYES

After the proceedings, Napoles, surrounded by guards, hurriedly left the court, refusing to entertain any questions from the media.

The formal charge against Napoles was read aloud by a court employee.

“She was asked to enter her plea but she kept her silence without saying a word,” Valencia said, adding that Napoles appeared “calm and relaxed.”

Kapunan told reporters that her client refused to enter a plea since a case filed in the Court of Appeals remained pending.

Napoles has filed a petition for certiorari with temporary restraining order in the appellate court “questioning the grave abuse of discretion of the Department of Justice in reversing its first resolution dismissing the serious illegal detention case,” Kapunan said.

“She did not enter a plea because she did not want to waive the case pending at the CA,” Kapunan said.

Go to SC

Before the arraignment, the lawyers of Napoles filed a motion to move the arraignment to Fort Sto. Domingo, citing threats to her security.

“A judge and lawyers going to Fort Sto. Domingo is not that costly compared to (Napoles) and a convoy of security personnel coming to the (Makati) RTC,” Kapunan said.

She said Alameda had asked the Napoles camp to file their motion in the Supreme Court.

Kapunan said Napoles came to the court not feeling well.

The serious illegal detention case was filed against Napoles and her brother Reynald Lim by the National Bureau of Investigation. Lim remains a fugitive.

The case stemmed from the alleged detention of Luy, a former employee at Napoles’ JLN Group of Companies. Luy is now in government custody.

Luy has pointed to Napoles as the person behind the handing out of pork barrel funds—officially called the Priority Development Assistance Fund—to senators, congressmen, their aides and other officials.

Charges of plunder, malversation, bribery and corruption against Napoles and the others have been filed in the Office of the Ombudsman.

Napoles’ lawyers claimed that the illegal detention case against Napoles lacked sufficient evidence and that Luy had only used the case to “extort money from her.”

‘A step forward’

Luy was not present at the arraignment but his lawyer, Levito Baligod, and his relatives were present.

After the arraignment, Napoles was brought back to her Laguna detention facility.

Security at the police camp remained tight. Reporters were barred from entering the facility.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang welcomed the arraignment of Napoles.

“This is a step forward in her case,” said Lacierda said.

On Napoles’ request to be tried in the Laguna police camp, Lacierda said: “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 would pose a security threat to her.”—With reports from  Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon; and  Gil C. Cabacungan in Manila

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Court enters not guilty plea for Napoles