Napoles runs to CA; Is She hiding or being hidden?: mb.ph/News/Main_News/27639/Napoles_runs_to_CA;_Is_She_hiding_or_being_hidden#.Ug9KTr5UrRY.twitter By Leonard D. Postrado, Ellson A. Quismorio and Genalyn D. Kabiling Published: August 17, 2013 Manila, Philippines --- Lawyers of now fugitive businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles yesterday asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) from hearing the serious illegal detention case, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed against her in connection with the kidnapping of P10-billion pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy. This developed as Malacañang appealed to Napoles to surrender and face the charges filed against her even as the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) joined the manhunt for her and brother Reynald “Jojo” Lim. Also yesterday, feisty Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago posed this question: Is Napoles hiding or being hidden? In a 68-page petition for certiorari with prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and a writ for preliminary injunction, Napoles’ lawyer Lorna Kapunan wanted the CA to enjoin all respondents from implementing the warrants of arrest of Janet and her brother. Named respondents in the case were Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati RTC branch 150, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Nonnatus Caesar Rojas, and civilians Arturo Luy, Gertrudes Luy, Annabelle Luy-Reario, and Benhur K. Luy. De Lima Assails Napoles Sought for comment, De Lima assailed the camp of Napoles for filing the petition, as she maintained that “it is still premature for Napoles to seek any [legal] remedy that they would want to seek.” “Any remedy they want to avail themselves of should be first and foremost addressed to the very court that issued the warrant. They cannot just proceed directly to the CA. I think the petition should be dismissed outright,” De Lim said. Court records show that the petition of Napoles stemmed from the reversal of the DOJ resolution that earlier dismissed the case. Palace Backs Citizens’ Arrest Recognizing the limited number of arresting officers, Valte also echoed Justice De Lima’s call for a citizen’s arrest of Napoles. Director Francisco Uyami Jr., the PNP-CIDG director, said that immediately after they were furnished a copy of the warrants of arrest against Napoles and her brother, they immediately formed 19 tracker teams to hunt down the siblings. He said Senior Superintendent Harris Fama will lead the search for the accused. Hiding Or Being Hidden? Where on earth is Napoles? Perhaps hiding or being hidden away from everyone else? Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, in a rare interview with reporters Friday, posed these possibilities as the nation holds it breath for the next thrilling chapter of pork-gate. “We’re all shocked that she (Napoles) has disappeared from plain view but there are many possibilities,” Santiago told reporters following a speaking engagement at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. “Either she went (off) on her own and has been planning this all the while, she’s been making herself visible to catch us off guard,” Santiago said of Napoles, owner of the JLN Group of Companies. that purportedly plays an integral part in the billion-peso racket. Persuaded To Disappear? Santiago, a former trial court judge, also floated the possibility that Napoles had been “persuaded to disappear for her own good” by the senators that have been reported linked to the scam ever since it was made public about a month ago. “Maybe a quid pro quo arrangement You can never tell,” said the Iloilo senator, who is still on sick leave. Quid pro quo is Latin for “this for that,” and can essentially mean “a favor for a favor.” “Senators are more powerful than congressmen,” noted Santiago. “Maybe you’ll find that abroad, she (Napoles) has suddenly committed suicide. In which the presumption should be that she was murdered to silence her. All kinds of scenarios can come to mind,” she continued, now sounding more like a crime novelist. If anything, Santiago, who confessed to having acute chronic fatigue, said that the businesswoman’s decision to flee from the hands of justice constitutes a crime. “But generally it’s a crime to jump bail. No bail is recommended, so it’s a crime to evade criminal jurisdiction. You become a fugitive from justice. That is a crime in itself.” Napoles’ sudden disappearance amid her legal troubles reminded Santiago of a former colleague, Sen. Panfilo Lascon, whom the latter said set a “very bad precedent” when he fled the country in 2010 for alleged links to the Dacer-Corbito double murder case. (With a report from Elena L. Aben) [BANSANG MAHARLIKA]
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 10:04:03 +0000