Napoles wants church custody; CBCP says no

MANILA, Philippines — Janet Lim Napoles has asked the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines to take her under protective custody.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), however, rejected her proposal, citing legal and financial impediments.

"With regard to her request that the CBCP take her under protective custody, we face obstacles from both Church and State laws," Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement Tuesday.

Villegas said that Church laws do not allow an episcopal conference to stand as "guarantor before civil courts that the accused will not abscond and will be available at every trial date."

The CBCP president visited Napoles when she was still confined at the Ospital ng Makati in April upon the request of the plunder respondent's kin.

This time, however, the bishop refused the request saying assuming responsibility over Napoles would establish a precedent for all other accused in the pork barrel scam.

"Once we allow CPCP's offices to take recognizance of Ms. Napoles, we must, to be fair, accept similar requests from all other accused. Not only would this strain CBCP's resources. It would render impossible the discharge of its principal functions," Villegas explained.

He urged the government to respect and safeguard the right of Napoles and other accused.

State prosecutors should also be resolute and non-selective in seeking justice for offenders amid criticisms that Napoles and three detained senators were singled out for the supposed crime.