FILE PHOTO: Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles (UNTV News)
MANILA, Philippines — Now that Janet Lim Napoles is already serving her sentence at the Correctional Institution for Women for her serious illegal detention case, issues on where the hearings of her other cases will be held arise.
Aside from her serious illegal detention case which was handled by the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150, Napoles is also facing eight more cases related to the pork barrel scam before the Sandiganbayan.
Five of these are plunder cases with Sen. Bong Revilla, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and two other former congressmen as co-accused.
According to Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje Tang, they are now weighing their options on dealing with next hearings of Napoles.
They are putting in consideration a Supreme Court circular, stressing that as a national prisoner, Napoles is bound to be in the custody of the Bureau of Corrections.
Another administrative order says that any convicted prisoner facing death penalty or life imprisonment is not allowed to leave the penal institution unless there is a permission from the Supreme Court.
And if a convicted person has to appear before any judicial proceeding, the court is compelled to hold the proceedings inside the premises of the penal institution.
Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje Tang said, “We will still discuss with the other members of the court if there is still a need for us to seek clearance from the Supreme Court that instead of the court going to Correctional Institute for Women, instead the court continue to hear the case here and request permission from the court.”
After the commitment order was released by Makati RTC ordering Napoles’ imprisonment in the Correction Institution for Women, her lawyers immediately filed a motion before the five divisions of the anti-graft court.
Napoles was requesting that she be allowed to stay at BJMP Camp Bagong Diwa for her convenience in attending her hearings at the Sandiganbayan.
Only the 3rd division released a resolution denying her motion.
Presiding Justice Tang also said that it is unlikely that the four other divisions would resolve her motion differently.
“I have serious doubts whether they will have a ruling different from our ruling now because we are simply guided by what the Supreme Court circular provides.”
Janet Lim Napoles is facing eight cases of PDAF scam before all the divisions of the anti-graft court, but only the 3rd division is requesting her appearance in all its hearings. The other divisions, meanwhile, opted to accept her waiver of appearance. (JOYCE BALANCIO / UNTV News)