Sandigan won’t allow Janet Napoles extradition yet

DOJ: Janet’s daughter left Philippines before US indictment

MANILA, Philippines — Despite her indictment in the United States for money laundering, suspected pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles cannot be extradited while she is on trial in Philippine courts, Sandiganbayan presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang said yesterday.

 “The rule in our jurisdiction is that once a court acquires jurisdiction over a case, it continues to do so until the termination of the case. This includes jurisdiction over the person of the accused in a criminal case,” Tang told The STAR in a text message.

Tang was responding to a query on whether the Sandiganbayan can allow the extradition of Napoles to the US to stand trial in money laundering cases.

Napoles is facing five counts of plunder as well as multiple graft and malversation cases before the Sandiganbayan for funneling billions of pesos worth of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel of several lawmakers to bogus non-government organizations. She is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

The PDAF allocations were for supposed livelihood projects that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Commission on Audit (COA) later found to be “fictitious” or never implemented.

As the only court that currently has exclusive jurisdiction over Napoles, the Sandiganbayan must ensure her presence at all hearings on her cases to ensure her unhampered trial, Tang explained.

“Part of the exercise of that jurisdiction is the power of the court to ensure that the accused shall, at all times, be within its reach to maintain its effective jurisdiction over the same accused,” he pointed out.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier told The STAR that Napoles could be extradited to the US for trial and her cases in the Philippines suspended.

Guevarra said this could be allowed in the light of an existing Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the US and the Philippines.

Asked if the Sandiganbayan can temporarily relinquish its jurisdiction over Napoles in light of the MLAT, Tang said: “That is something that has to be studied. There is no SC decision yet on that issue that can guide us.”

In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Department of Justice announced that Napoles, her children Jo Christine, James Christopher and Jeane Catherine; her brother Reynaldo and his wife Ana Marie have been indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit money laundering, domestic money laundering and international money laundering.

The US justice department said that based on investigation, Napoles had some $20 million she had amassed from the pork barrel fund scam transmitted to her US bank accounts. The amount was used for the purchase of assets including real estate properties and dozens of luxury vehicles.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, in a statement, said that when the issue came to light in the media, Napoles and her family members attempted to quietly liquidate their assets in the US and secretly repatriate most of the resulting funds back to the Philippines and to other accounts in the US and the United Kingdom.

It also said part of the amount was withdrawn and used to finance the lifestyle and open a fashion business for Napoles’ youngest daughter Jeane Catherine.

Napoles, the report added, had also used the money for her real estate binge, purchase of shares in numerous businesses and for financing the lifestyle of her other family members.

It was reported that in 2015, the US government won a court order to freeze the $12.5 million worth of assets bought by Napoles and others using the alleged stolen funds.

Out of the country

Meanwhile, Jeane Catherine had left the Philippines days before getting indicted in the US for money laundering, along with her mother and several others, Guevarra said.

He said that based on information provided by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Jeane Catherine left the country last July 27.

There are no known pending cases in the Philippines against Jeane Catherine after the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) dismissed the tax evasion case against her last Dec. 6.

Among the six defendants in the money laundering case in the US, only Jeane Catherine is out of the country. Guevarra said he has no information regarding her country of destination.

But he said US authorities might also exert effort to locate her or at least establish her whereabouts.

“Considering that an indictment has already been made in US courts, the US government has ways of tracking down the defendants anywhere, including tapping the assistance of the Interpol,” Guevarra added.

“Per BI records… (Jeane) Catherine left last July 27 (while) the rest (of those indicted in the US) are still in the Philippines,” Guevarra said.

Napoles’ two other children Jo Christine and James Christopher have pending cases of graft and malversation before the Sandiganbayan.

Guevarra also said that if the US government would request their extradition, “we will evaluate and commence the appropriate proceedings,” especially if there is no pending court case against them.

He earlier said there were two legal options for Napoles’ extradition under the Philippine-US Extradition Treaty. If officially requested by the US, the Philippines may turn over Napoles temporarily to US authorities so that her trial for money laundering could proceed.

The second option is for the US to wait until all her cases pending before the Sandiganbayan are terminated or resolved, before seeking her extradition.

Guevarra also said that before they could start processing the return of her assets to the Philippines, Napoles and the others indicted must first be convicted in a criminal court in the US. –  With Evelyn Macairan