Napoles asks judge to defer arraignment for serious illegal detention rap

Atty. Lorna Kapunan INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Janet Lim-Napoles, the businesswoman at the center of the P10-billion pork barrel scam, asked the Makati Regional Trial Court on Wednesday afternoon to defer the arraignment on the serious illegal detention charge filed against her and her brother.

Napoles filed the 18-page urgent motion at the Makati RTC Branch 150 on Wednesday through the Kapunan Garcia and Castillo law offices, seeking to reverse the earlier order of Judge Elmo Alameda setting the date of her arraignment on Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m. and suspend the succeeding court proceedings.

According to the motion, there are still pending motions filed in court that have yet to be resolved, including a motion for bills of particulars requesting information on the charge against her.

A petition for certiorari questioning the legality of the warrant of arrest issued earlier by Judge Alameda of Makati RTC Branch 150 and assailing the local court’s “grave abuse of discretion” remains pending at the Court of Appeals.

“It would be the height of unfairness and bias to allow the arraignment to proceed,” Napoles’ lawyers said, noting, however, that there was no intention to delay the proceedings.

The National Bureau of Investigation has charged Napoles and her brother Reynald Lim for allegedly detaining Benhur Luy, an employee of Napoles’ JLN Group of Companies, which has been implicated in the scam involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund of senators and congressmen.

The Makati RTC had acted on the complaint and issued warrants for their arrests immediately.