De Lima wants Napoles lawyer cited for contempt

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Saturday that government prosecutors will ask a Makati City court to cite Lorna Kapunan, lawyer of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, in contempt of court.

"I instructed the handling prosecutors, thru PG (Prosecutor General Claro A.) Arellano, to formally ask the RTC-Makati to cite Atty. Lorna 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.

De Lima cited Kapunan's presentation of evidence during a break in the hearing of the serious illegal detention case of Napoles at the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150 on Friday.

Napoles' lawyer presented to the media alleged pieces of evidence purportedly showing that scam whistleblower Benhur Luy, who filed the case against Napoles, was not detained by the businesswoman and her brother Reynald Lim in a condominium unit at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig last December.

Kapunan said the photos are grabbed from the CCTV camera footage of the condominium building, where Luy was supposedly illegally detained by the siblings.

The lawyer attempted to present the same evidence at the hearing proper, but it was denied by presiding judge Elmo Alameda.

Luy was rescued from the condominium unit last March 22 by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation. The alleged illegal detention was reported by the immediate family of the whistleblower.

"Her (Kapunan) actuation yesterday (Friday), right after coming out of the courtroom during a break (I surmise, a lunch break), are clearly violative of the subjudice rule," De Lima said.