De Lima seeks contempt citation for Napoles lawyer

DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Saturday she has directed prosecutors to ask the Makati City Regional Trial Court to cite lawyer Lorna Kapunan in contempt after she showed journalists videotaped evidence that purportedly would clear her client, pork barrel scam suspected mastermind Janet Napoles, of an illegal detention charge.

“I instructed the handling prosecutors, through Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, to formally ask the Makati RTC to cite Attorney Kapunan in contempt of court for arguing their case and presenting alleged evidence before the media while the bail hearings are yet ongoing,” De Lima said in a text message.

“Her (Kapunan’s) actuations yesterday (Friday), right after coming out of the courtroom during a break are clearly violative of the sub judice rule,” De Lima added.

During the bail hearing, Kapunan tried to present the videotape to the court in support of Napoles’ bail motion but the Judge Elmo Alameda refused because the video was not authenticated.

Napoles and her brother, Reynald Lim, were both charged by the Department of Justice with illegally detaining Benhur Luy, one of the whistle-blowers in the pork barrel scandal, for three months.  The court issued warrants for the arrest of the two accused last August 14.

Napoles, who surrendered on August 28, refused to enter a plea at her arraignment last Monday. Kapunan filed a motion asking the court to allow her client to post bail.

Lim is still at large.

According to Kapunan, the video captured by a security camera showed Luy freely following Lim on foot from the basement parking lot to Lim’s South Garden unit at the Pacific Plaza Towers in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

The video, supposedly taken on the eve of the rescue of Luy by National Bureau of Investigation agents, would disprove prosecutors’ claim that Luy was being detained or that he needed rescue, Kapunan said.

“It can be seen that they (Lim and Luy) are together. Benhur was not handcuffed, Lim had no firearms. Benhur could have easily run to the elevator. He was not being restrained,” Kapunan said.