Sandigan denies Napoles jail transfer

MANILA, Philippines — Although she had been admitted to the witness protection program (WPP) of the Department of Justice (DOJ), alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles should remain at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, the Sandiganbayan said yesterday.

The anti-graft court said Napoles’ motion seeking transfer of custody is bereft of merit as she is being lawfully detained and denied bail for plunder and other charges arising from her alleged involvement in the misuse of public funds. 

The Sandiganbayan’s First Division said the implementing rules and regulations of the WPP Law provide that Napoles should be held in a facility operated by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) while undergoing trial and awaiting judgment.

The First Division is handling one of Napoles’ plunder cases with former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. as her co-accused.

“The program shall not take into its protective custody a witness who is under detention for any lawful cause,” the Sandiganbayan said in a ruling issued on April 5 and obtained yesterday by media. 

“However, it shall direct the custodian of the witness to take necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of the witness,” the ruling added. 

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra is leaving it up to to the Sandiganbayan to decide on the motion of Napoles.

“I’ll take a look at the resolution and validate it first. In any event, the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over the subject matter and the accused. The discretion, if not the prerogative belongs to the court,” Guevarra said yesterday.

The Sandiganbayan noted that it denied bail for the accused after finding out that the prosecution has strong evidence against Napoles and her co-accused. 

“There is no question that Napoles’ continued detention under the BJMP, which arose from a lawful order, is for a lawful cause,” the decision penned by First Division chairperson Associate Justice Efren de la Cruz said.

The anti-graft court said transferring custody of the accused to the DOJ-WPP would be against the law, which does not have any provision for exception.

Last month, Napoles asked the Sandiganbayan to allow her to be transferred from the custody of the BJMP to the DOJ-WPP, which provisionally accepted her as a witness supposedly against other individuals who were also believed involved or masterminded the pork scam but have not been probed or charged.

Napoles claimed she is under threat, intimidated and harassed, and that her transfer from the BJMP to the DOJ-WPP is imperative.

She said she is entitled to a secure facility until the threat, intimidation or harassment disappears or is reduced.

Napoles has been tagged as the brains in the misuse of billions of pesos in pork funds by several lawmakers based on a 2007-2010 report of the Commission on Audit. 

She is a principal accused in the criminal cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against former senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada as well as other former lawmakers. – Evelyn Macairan