Alleged scam accused Napoles appears in court

Filipino businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the Priority Development Assistance Fund Scam, arrives for the court hearing in Makati city, south of Manila yesterday.By Ritchie A Horario/Manila TimesWearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet, Janet Lim-Napoles, the key figure in the pork barrel scandal, yesterday refused to enter a plea before a Makati City court where she is charged with serious illegal detention.Napoles’ lawyer Lorna Kapunan, said her client did not enter a plea because doing so might prejudice her pending petitions before the Court of Appeals.Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Elmo Alameda entered a plea of not guilty on Napoles’ behalf.Napoles said the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Makati Regional Trial Court abused their authority by reviving the serious illegal detention case against her and when she was ordered arrested.Makati RTC Judge Elmo Alameda earlier denied a petition of Kapunan to transfer the arraignment to Fort Santo Domingo in Santa Rosa City, Laguna province where Napoles is detained, citing security reasons.Alameda ruled only the Supreme Court can decide if a court hearing can be transferred or not. Kapunan said after the hearing the judge considered their motion as academic since Napoles had already been brought to the court.She questioned Alameda’s decision to push through with the arraignment considering the Supreme Court had suspended the work in court because of heavy rains.Napoles’ brother Reynald Lim, who remains at large, also refused to enter any plea.The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Napoles’ cousin and trusted aide, Benhur Luy.Luy, the primary whistleblower in the pork barrel scam, accused Napoles and Lim of detaining him for three months. His mother, Gertrudes, attended the arraignment together with his lawyer Levito Baligod.Napoles arrived at the courtroom at 1pm under heavy police guard.Makati police chief Sr. Supt. Manuel Lukban said Napoles and her police escorts took the elevator to the City Hall’s 14th floor but ended up on the 15th floor by mistake.They took the stairway to the 14th floor. Journalists waiting for Napoles were surprised to see her emerging from the stairway instead of the elevator.But Napoles’ guards did not give any chance for members of media to interview her.Alameda also did not allow media coverage of the arraignment.The arraignment lasted about an hour.Kapunan also said they will petition the Supreme Court to move the venue of the hearing.She said she will also request the Makati court to waive the appearance of Napoles during succeeding hearings, saying her client’s presence in the Makati court “will unnecessarily expose her life and security to grave and imminent danger more so now that plunder charges have been filed against many influential elected officials.”The lawyer said they have lined up 17 witnesses as compared to the prosecution’s eight.The court is expected to hear on Friday Napoles’ motion for bail.