Principal whistle-blower Benhur Luy. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Defense lawyers of the alleged mastermind in the P10 billion pork barrel scam grilled a principal witness during a bail petition hearing for their client who, aside from plunder, is facing serious illegal detention charges.
Pointing out inconsistencies in the testimony of Benhur Luy before Branch 50 of the Makati regional trial court, the lawyers of Janet Lim-Napoles, headed by Lorna Kapunan, questioned Luy on why he did not ask for his family’s rescue in his letters to them.
Luy filed serious illegal detention charges against Napoles and her brother Reynald “Jojo” Lim over his alleged abduction supposedly to prevent him from disclosing what he knew about the multibillion-peso scam that eventually linked lawmakers who funneled their pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to bogus nongovernment organizations.
In his testimony, Luy said that he surreptitiously slipped a letter to his sister Anabelle Luy-Reario’s pocket during the time Lim allowed Luy to meet with his family last February 23.
Luy said while he was detained at the Bahay San Jose retreat house in Magallanes village in Makati on December 20, Lim visited him on his second month of detention and told him that he would see his family at the South Garden Unit of Pacific Plaza in Bonifacio Global City.
The Pacific Plaza unit was owned by Napoles, Luy said in the cross examination conducted by the counsels of Napoles and Lim.
The defense lawyers countered that Luy’s secret letter to his sister was “an opportunity to say what he wanted to say without ‘Kuya Jojo’ preventing from doing so.”
“You said you were detained in Bahay San Jose for three months against your will. But in your letter, you called your family to join you in your nocturnal prayer, which you are doing inside the Bahay San Jose?… There is no portion in your letter where you are asking for their rescue,” said the lawyer.
Luy reasoned that “Kuya Jojo (Lim) might catch him handing the letter and find out that he was asking for his family’s help”.
But the defense said: “In short, whatever that was written in this letter is something Jojo and Janet Napoles wanted as much as you’re concerned. So since this is what they wanted, it doesn’t matter if Jojo reads this letter, right?”
Luy said the letter was an “experiment”. “If I succeed in sneaking this letter, I would write another where I would say where they detained me, that this confinement was against my will, that they were monitoring my movements, that I was not allowed to go home. I wrote the letter if in case Jojo discovers it; just imagine what he would do to me and my family if he finds out?” he explained.
Another inconsistency in Luy’s statement claimed by the defense was his spiritual activities inside the Bahay San Jose—a retreat house supervised by Catholic priests and Monsignors who were family friends to the Napoleses.
Kapunan, in an INQUIRER.net report, said that Luy was not detained by the siblings. She said Luy was only on a “spiritual retreat.”
“So you did not do anything spiritual all throughout your stay?” the defense lawyers said.
“Yes,” answered back Luy.
The lawyers quoted a paragraph from Luy’s letter that was written in Filipino: “To my loved ones, I only have the bible and the Psalter [Book of Psalms] to talk to. What is giving me strength and the will to withstand this ordeal is the hope that God has given me – that all these will come to pass. My tears and loneliness will one day turn into joy and happiness or laughter or gladness.”
“So these are religious books and materials you were reading?” the lawyers asked.
But Luy said he only read the Holy Bible and Psalter “because it was in the chapel.”
He said that on Napoles’ instructions, Lim barred Luy from communicating with his family and friends and did not allow the siblings’ former employee and distant cousin to go out of the retreat house without their permission.
“You pray 2,000 Hail Marys. You also do fasting. So did you did not do anything spiritual all throughout your stay?” asked the defense.
Luy said “None.”
The final bail petition hearing will be held on Wednesday at the Makati RTC to be presided by Judge Elmo Alameda.
Napoles is currently at Fort Santo Domingo in Laguna while Lim remains at large. They are both facing plunder charges along with 35 others for their involvement in the pork barrel scam.
INQUIRER.net is posting below the full text of Luy’s letter to his family dated Feb. 21, 2013:
“Kamusta kayo? Mahal at miss ko na kayo sobra. Sana ay patuloy kayong maging matatag katulad sa akin sa harap ng sitwasyon na pinagdaanan natin. Lahat ng ito ay pinahintulutan ng Diyos at meron itong nakalaan na mas maganda para sa ating lahat. May pangako ang Diyos at ito ay ipagkakaloob niya sa atin. Marami akong iku-kwento sa inyo after nitong lahat. Kung paano nangungusap ang Diyos sa akin at kung paano ipinaliwanag sa akin ang mga buhay na nangyari sa akin at sa ating pamilya.
Mga minamahal ko, tanging bible at psalter lamang ang aking kausap. Ang panghawakan ko para tumagal at makayanan ang ganito katagal ay ang pag-asa na ibinigay ng Diyos sa akin na balang araw ay matatapos din. Ang dating lungkot at iyak ay balang araw will turn into joy and happiness or laughter or gladness.
Iniimbitahan ko kayo na damayan ninyo ako sa aking ginagawa. I am currently doing the nocturnal prayer, the 3 a.m. fasting. Two thousand Hail Mary, para sa pagpapatawad ng pamilya Napoles lalong lalo na si Ate Jenny (Napoles) sa aking kasalanan, o kasalanan natin. Ipanalangin natin sa Diyos at magmamakaawa na pakinggan niya an gating iyak. Ask the Holy Spirit to help us through the intercession of Mother Mary.
Hindi ko alam kung anong araw mag-uusap kayo ni Madame at Napoles family. Ang tulong ko na magagawa ko lang ay ipanalangin ko na lamang kayo na gabayan kayo ng Espiritu Santo na siya ang magiging bibig, boses at manguna sa araw ng pag-uusap sa paghingi ng tawad. Please enter with humility. Mangusap ng kababaang loob. I invite you on the day to make use of the weapons, prayer and fasting. Hanggang dito na lang. I love you very much. Nagmamahal, Benhur.”
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