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Napoles insists on transfer to NBI

Elizabeth Marcelo - Philstar.com
Napoles insists on transfer to NBI

Janet Lim-Napoles said she is being “bombarded” with threats almost everyday. The STAR/Boy Santos

MANILA, Philippines — Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the multibillion-peso pork barrel fund scam, is not giving up on her bid to be placed under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.

In a “very urgent motion” filed before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on June 1, Napoles, through her lawyer Stephen David, reiterated that she should be transferred to the NBI Custodial Center in Manila due to supposed serious threats to her life.

“This plea is in light with the recent development of her entire cases which greatly affect not only her line of defense but more importantly her life and security,” Napoles' motion read.

Napoles' camp said the threats that she has been receiving “became serious and strong when the news circulated that she may be used as government/state witness against some high-ranking government officials regarding the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam and that the present administration intends to revisit her case.”

Napoles said she is being “bombarded” with threats almost everyday, including the ransacking of her personal belongings by unknown individuals. Napoles said she also received written threats.

Napoles filed the motion in connection with the seven counts of graft that she is facing before the Fifth Division as co-accused of former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives party-list representative Edgar Valdez.

The cases stemmed from the alleged misuse of Valdez' P9-million worth of PDAF or pork barrel from 2004 to 2010.

Valdez and Napoles are also facing a plunder case in connection with the same alleged anomaly, but the Fifth Division, in April 2016, granted their petition for bail citing the weak evidence of the prosecution.

Fifth Division records, however, show that Napoles has yet to post bail both for the plunder and graft cases, even though graft is a bailable offense.

This is because posting bail seems futile as the Sandiganbayan's First, Third and Fifth Divisions have earlier denied her petition for bail as co-accused in the plunder cases of former senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada, respectively, also in connection with the pork scam.

Just last month, the First, Third and Fifth Division denied Napoles' motion to be transferred to the NBI Custodial Center.

Napoles was instead transferred from the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Female Dormitory in Taguig.

Her transfer of detention was in connection with her acquittal of a serious illegal detention case filed by her second cousin and former employee Benhur Luy, the primary state witnesses in the pork barrel scam.

Meanwhile in a motion also filed on June 1, state prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman urged the Fifth Division to issue a ruling affirming Napoles' commitment to the custody of the BJMP in order “to thwart any confusion” as to where she should be detained.

Just last week Napoles tagged opposition senators Leila De Lima, Franklin Drilon and Antonio Trillanes IV, as well as former Budget secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad as supposedly involved in the PDAF scam.

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