Napoles daughter back from Indonesia, to face US cases

MANILA, Philippines — Jeane Catherine Napoles, the youngest daughter of detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, returned to the Philippines on Friday, one of the family lawyers said.

“Jeane arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at exactly 3:35 a.m. on Friday. I personally fetched her for the reason that the family is concerned of any eventuality in light of her recent indictment in the US,” counsel Ian Encarnacion told The STAR.

On Friday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told the media that Jeane Catherine left the Philippines on July 27 based on records of the Bureau of Immigration.

Guevarra, however, said he had no knowledge of where Jeane was heading.

Jeane’s departure from the Philippines came days before the US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday her indictment by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit money laundering, domestic money laundering and international money laundering concerning the wealth that her mother supposedly amassed from the pork barrel fund scam.


Also indicted by the jury were Napoles, her two other children Jo Christine and James Christopher and her brother Reynaldo Lim and his wife Ana Marie.

Guevarra said that aside from Jeane, all the other indicted members of the Napoles family are still in the Philippines.

Encarnacion confirmed Jeane left for Indonesia on July 27, but stressed that the trip had no connection with her recent indictment.

“It was a purely business trip. She sourced raw materials for a clothing business of a friend. The flight was booked sometime in June when we had no knowledge yet of any indictment,” Encarnacion said.

Encarnacion said Jeane’s return on Friday was also scheduled and not out of fear that she might get arrested on foreign soil.

“She is ready to face the cases against her. We will exhaust all legal remedies available to prevent her possible extradition to the US. We maintain her innocence and we look forward to having these cases dismissed,” Encarnacion said.

Justice Secretary Guevarra confirmed Jeane Catherine returned to the country last Friday.

“She flew back yesterday from Denpasar, Indonesia via Zest Air,” Guevarra said.

Jeane Catherine has no pending cases in the Philippines following the Court of Tax Appeals’ dismissal of her P17.46-million tax evasion cases in December last year.

Encarnacion also revealed that he and some other lawyers were on the way to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig to meet with Napoles and the other members of the family.

“We will be having initial discussions on our legal strategy, on how we will go about these new cases and the possibility of extradition,” Encarnacion said but refused to elaborate.

Napoles is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa on five counts of plunder and multiple counts of graft and malversation pending before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

Jo Christine and James Christopher are also facing graft and malversation cases at the Sandiganbayan in connection with the pork scam but they are currently out on bail.

Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang earlier said they have jurisdiction over the Napoles family members facing cases at the anti-graft court. This means their extradition may only come after the cases are resolved.

When asked if the Sandiganbayan can temporarily relinquish its jurisdiction over the Napoleses in light of an existing Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the Philippines and the US, Tang said: “That is something that has to be studied. There is no SC (Supreme Court) decision yet on that issue that can guide us.”

On the possibility that Napoles would be extradited, Guevarra said the DOJ would provide security for whistle-blower Benhur Luy if he would have to give his testimony before the US courts.

“If he’s requested to testify by US prosecutors, we can make the proper security arrangements,” Guevarra said.

Another option is for the prosecutors from the US government to come to the Philippines to personally get Luy’s sworn statement.

“US prosecutors may simply take his deposition in the Philippines in the presence of defense counsel,” Guevarra added.

Luy had testified that he sent government funds to the alleged accounts of Napoles in the US. He said public funds from former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. reportedly went to the implementing agencies while some were wired to the US.

In its statement released on Wednesday, 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 and dozens of luxury vehicles.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said 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 when the issue came to light in the media.

It also said part of the amount was withdrawn and used to finance the lifestyle and open a fashion business for 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.

The DOJ had earlier turned down Napoles’ application for witness protection in her bid to be a state witness in the pork scam.  – Evelyn Macairan

source: philstar.com

Ombudsman files pork plunder raps vs JPE, Jinggoy, Bong, Napoles, 5 co-accused

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday filed plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan against those allegedly involved in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam led by senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr, Janet Lim-Napoles, and their five co-accused.

The five others are Jessica Lucila Reyes, Ronald John Lim, John Raymond de Asis, Pauline Labayen, and Richard Cambe.

Reyes is the former chief of staff of Enrile. Lim is Napoles' nephew. De Asis, president of the allegedly bogus Kaupdanan para sa Mangunguma Foundation, is said to be Napoles' driver-bodyguard. Labayen is Estrada's deputy chief of staff, while Cambe is Revilla's chief of staff.

Employees of the Ombudsman's office with four boxes of documents in two trolleys went to the Judicial and Records Division of the Sandiganbayan to file the cases against the accused.

The cases are expected to be raffled off next week and assigned to a division of the anti-graft court that will determine whether there's probable cause to make an arrest. The anti-graft court has 10 days to issue arrest warrants.

At the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City Friday afternoon, journalists saw that the road on Lt. Alagar Street in front of the PNP Custodial Center near the crime laboratory was blocked with traffic cones past 2 p.m.

Past 3 p.m., policemen carrying high-powered firearms were seen arriving at Camp Crame.

Respondents to the pork barrel cases are expected to be arrested by authorities from the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and brought to the PNP's Custodial Center once the warrants are issued against them.

source: interaksyon.com

Truth will save your life or be the best revenge, Miriam tells Napoles

MANILA, Philippines -- Telling the truth about the P10-billion pork barrel scam will either save her life or, failing that, be her best revenge against those out to murder her, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago told Janet Lim-Napoles.

“Gusto nilang patayin ka, kasi nandiyan sa utak mo ang pagkasira, hindi lamang ng kanilang kayamanan, kundi ng kanilang buhay (They want to kill you because in your brain lies the destruction not only of their wealth but of their lives),” Santiago told Napoles, as she urged the businesswoman accused of engineering the scam in collusion with lawmakers and other government officials to identify the most guilty parties in the embezzlement of huge sums in congressional pork barrel.

And in case she is murdered, Santiago told Napoles, her testimony would at least be perpetuated.

“Ngayon pa lang sabihin mo na kung sino ang most guilty dito kasi sakaling mapatay ka, puwedeng gamitin ang testimonya mo dito na parang affidavit na maaaring gamitin sa korte (Right now you better say who is the most guilty here because if you are killed, your testimony here can be like an affidavit that can be used in court),” Santiago said. “Mawawalan ka ng problema, hindi mamamatay ang testimonya mo (You will get rid of your problems, your testimony will not die).”

Santiago also suggested that Napoles petition the court for the perpetuation of her testimony.

“Dahil pinag-iinitan ka, puwede kang humingi ng (Because you are under threat, you can ask for the) perpetuation of testimony, (for) which you can file a petition before the court,” she said. “Kung kumbinsido ang korte na kung mapatay ka at hindi makakamit ang katarungan, papayag ang korte na bigyan ka ng (If the court is convinced that justice will not be attained if you are killed, the court will grant) perpetual testimony.”

“Kaya habang buhay ka, mapanganib ang buhay mo, kasi nasa panganib ang buhay nila, maraming panganib sa buhay nila. Habang buhay ka, sabihin mo na (That’s why, while you’re still alive, your life is in danger because their lives are in danger, there are many threats to their lives. While you are alive, tell all). These people are murderous, they are planning your murder,” Santiago said.

 “Kasi kung mapatay ka, nagantihan mo na sila, ipapatay ka nila, kaya habang buhay ka pa, gantihan mo na sila, magbigay ka ng (Because if you are killed, you would have struck back already, they are out to kill you, so while you are still alive, strick back, give your) perpetual testimony,” Santiago said.

“Pag-isipan mo ‘yan, para sa abogado mo ‘yan (Think about that, that’s for your lawyer),” she added.

source: interaksyon.com

Huffington Post, international press, fall for hoax Jeane Napoles bathtub pic

MANILA, Philippines - When they ran out of floor space in the bedroom, she said, “we would place it in the bathtub.” Remember that statement made by government witness Gertrudes Luy? She recalled to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee in a recent hearing how employees of JLN Corp., the firm owned by alleged pork barrel queen Janet Lim-Napoles, how they would stash huge sums of money in their boss’s residence at a posh Bonifacio Global City residential tower.

The elder Luy, mother of chief whistleblower Benhur Luy, earlier also gave affidavits to the National Bureau of Investigation team looking into the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

While an earlier video posted by Napoles' daughter Jeane showing off her luxurious surroundings and possessions had already enraged social media weeks before her mother surrendered and was charged, the statement given at the Senate hearing about "bathtubs filled with cash" alone was enough to make people’s imagination run wild.

Apparently, even veterans in the news business were so obsessed with the imagery that even two international websites uploaded a photo of a woman bathing in money. The woman was identified as the controversial young socialite Jeane Lim-Napoles.

U.S.-based online news aggregator Huffington Post, and Australia-based
news website news.com.au ran the story about the young Napoles, but the girl in the photo was not Jeane at all.

The whereabouts of the young woman remain unclear, even though a luxury apartment in LA in her name was placed on the market over a week ago. Last week, the Bureau of Internal Revenue weighed in and filed a case accusing her of evading taxes.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Pork’ queen Janet Napoles feeds the latest meme

MANILA, Philippines — Trust wisecracking Filipino Internet users to make light of possibly every situation, no matter how grave or damning, including the sudden surrender of Janet Napoles to President Benigno Aquino III himself on Wednesday night.

Immediately following Napoles’ surrender, social media users took to their favorite photo-editing software to make memes that cast a funny light on how Wednesday’s gripping scenario unfolded in Malacañang.

Below are just some of the memes being passed around Facebook and Twitter hours after Napoles’s surrender, including “speculations” about how her mug shot looks like, the description of her holding cell, and where the P10 million reward will possibly be spent.

source: interaksyon.com

Napoles ordered arrested on illegal detention raps filed by pork scam whistleblower

MANILA, Philippines -- The National Bureau of Investigation moved to arrest businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles Wednesday after a court issued a warrant for her arrest over the serious illegal detention case filed against her by the whistleblower in the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam she is accused of engineering.

Justice Leila de Lima confirmed the warrants against Napoles and her brother Reynald “Jojo” Lim were issued Wednesday afternoon by Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150. 



"An NBI team is on its way to implement" the warrant, De Lima said Wednesday evening.

No bail has been recommended for the siblings.

De Lima said the DOJ had granted the motions for reconsideration filed by the NBI and pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy on the department’s earlier dismissal of the charges against Napoles and Lim.

Luy spilled the beans on the alleged scam, which supposedly involved lawmakers handing over billions of pesos from their Priority Development Assistance Fund to non-existent projects proposed by bogus nongovernmental organizations supposedly set up by Napoles.

The whistleblower was allegedly abducted December last year after he attempted to set up a similar operation.

Luy also said his detention was supposed to prevent him from exposing the scam.

He was rescued in March by the NBI from a condominium unit in Taguig City.

source: interaksyon.com