Janet Napoles. PHOTO courtesy of PNP-PIO and PNP-SAF photographers
A lot on Edsa in Cubao, Quezon City, that businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles bought from Sen. Jinggoy Estrada forms part of her many real estate assets estimated to be worth P5 billion.
Marina Sula, a whistle-blower who had been assigned to keep records of Napoles’ properties, told the Inquirer that the Estrada lot bought by her former employer was on Edsa corner P. Tuason Street.
Sula said she did not have the exact measurement of the lot but described it as “the vacant lot in the middle of a motorcycle store and a pizza warehouse.”
Estrada’s staff said the senator would not comment on the matter at this time.
Estrada, one of the three senators charged with plunder in the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam, is building a house on a 3,000-square-meter lot in Barangay (village) Wack-Wack in Mandaluyong City. Land in the upscale subdivision is reported to be valued at P70,000 to P80,000 per square meter.
Also forming part of Napoles’ properties is a large tract of land she bought from Abono Rep. Conrado Estrella III in Pangasinan province.
Estrella, a former representative of Pangasinan’s sixth district, is one the 23 members of the House of Representatives linked to the pork barrel scam believed to be masterminded by Napoles.
Malampaya Fund
Napoles acquired most of her assets, estimated to reach P5 billion, after she got hold of P900 million from the Malampaya Fund intended for storm victims, according to documents obtained by the Inquirer.
Benhur Luy, a former Napoles employee who has accused the detained businesswoman of being the mastermind of rackets that had defrauded the government of P10 billion over the past decade, said the bulk of the Napoles assets was purchased after the P900 million from the Malampaya Fund was released in December 2009 to 12 nongovernment organizations connected to her.
Buying left and right
“Though she already had properties, after she got hold of the Malampaya Fund, she was buying assets left and right,” said Luy, whose detention by Napoles for three months starting in December last year led him to reveal to the National Bureau of Investigation her alleged illicit activities.
Plunder charges have been filed against Napoles and 21 others, including former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and three of her former Cabinet officials, in connection with the alleged misuse of the Malampaya Fund.
Based on the records of Napoles’ bookkeeper, Arlene Baltazar, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, the businesswoman reportedly owned at least 70 houses and condominium units and at least 50 of these properties had already been transferred to five companies she supposedly controls.
The five companies—JCLN Global Properties and Development Corp., JLN Corp., JCLN Real Estate Development Consortium Inc., La Roca Enterprises and RLG Solutions—are the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation based on allegations of fraud, filed by the whistle-blowers and their lawyers, Stephen Cascolan and Lourdes Benipayo.
List of properties
The list of Napoles properties showed she owns 10 units in Discovery Center in Ortigas, Pasig City, worth P300 million.
She is also an owner of six properties in Makati City that include three swanky Primea units on Ayala Avenue in Makati City. These have been assessed at P350 million.
In 2012 alone, 14 properties worth P110 million were added to her name.
On May 19 and 27, 2010, Napoles and her husband, Jimmy, purchased a unit at Pacific Garden Towers for P50 million and Discovery Center Unit 2502 for P10 million.
Luy said that in 2010, Napoles bought a house in Magallanes Village in Makati City, known as Bahay San Jose, for P40 million from a Liza Ong.
From June 22 to 25 that year, Napoles acquired P36 million worth of properties that include two lots in the AFPOVAI village in Taguig City, and Discovery Suite 2501 and Discovery 2504.
On July 28, Aug. 23 and Oct. 22 in 2010, large tracts of land in Bulacan province valued at P30.5 million were added to the list of properties.
In June and July 2011, Napoles bought lots in various provinces worth P54 million.
Also in 2011, she added to the list a 1-hectare land in BF Parañaque that cost around P35 million.
Heritage Park
The list also included 58 “estate-and-lawn” lots worth P30 million at Heritage Park surrounding the mausoleum of Napoles’ mother, Magdalena Luy.
A copy of the list has been submitted to the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman as part of the evidence in the plunder charges against Napoles.
Cars
The list submitted by Napoles’ bookkeeper also showed that the businesswoman had purchased 45 vehicles through the years that included a 2010 model Range Rover, a Mercedes Benz, a Hummer, Lincoln Navigator, Chevrolet Tahoe, Cayenne Porsche, Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford Expedition, Mitsubishi Pajero, Toyota Fortuner and Honda CR-V.
Petitions to stop the sale or transfer of the properties have been filed in the SEC and the Land Registration Authority (LRA).
Properties in US
Properties in the United States identified as the Anaheim Express Inn, units at the swank Ritz-Carlton apartments, a residential house and St. Anthony Day Care Center were included in the petition.
The filing of the petitions was an initiative of the whistle-blowers because they did not want their efforts to go to waste. Some of the properties were reported to be on sale.
If the SEC revokes the certificates of registration of the five companies, requests will be made to the LRA and the Land Transportation Office not to recognize any sale or transfer of the assets until after the irregularities had been resolved.