Napoles in the same jail with ex-maid she 'framed' - lawyer

MANILA, Philippines - Janet Lim Napoles is actually in the same city jail where her former maid that she accused of stealing underwear and jackets is currently detained, a lawyer said Thursday.

The former domestic worker of the Napoles family identified as Cadelina Domingo has also been detained in the Makati City jail for several months now.

Levito Baligod, the legal counsel of pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy, said Domingo was framed by the Napoleses.

He said when Domingo quit her job, the Napoleses gave her clothes worth P200,000, including jackets and underwear, as some sort of a farewell gift.

"Pinalabas na lamang nila na yung underwear at jacket... na ninakaw daw niya," Baligod said in an interview on radio dzMM on Friday morning.

Napoles was transferred from Camp Crame to the Makati City Jail on Thursday night, but was excluded from the detention facility's 103 female detainees that included Domingo.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said Napoles was placed in a small and air-conditioned office inside the city jail, which will be her temporary detention room.

"Small, may lumang sofa, white na sahig, air-conditioned at basically isang desk," the interior secretary said, describing Napoles' detention room to reporters.

Related story: Napoles transferred to small, air-conditioned detention room

An arrest warrant was issued against Napoles due to the serious illegal detention charges filed by Lur. She voluntarily surrendered to President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday night for alleged threats to her life.

Malacañang has stressed the need to ensure the safety of Napoles, the central figure in the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam.

But officials have denied of giving "special treatment" to the  beleaguered businesswoman, who has been accused of setting up bogus non-government organizations that received the pork barrel of lawmakers.

“There is one instruction that the President gave me: to ensure that she is alive. We want her to be alive to face the charges and whatever penalties might be there and/or to be able to give testimonies, evidence additional strengthening the governance case on this anti-corruption issue,” Roxas said in an interview on ANC on Friday.

“This is an extraordinary case. Tens of billions of pesos are involved here. Extraordinary names are being dragged here so these are also extraordinary circumstances,” he said of the alleged "special treatment to Napoles.