Lawyer: Detention weakens Napoles' will to survive

MANILA, Philippines - Lawyer Lorna Kapunan on Friday said that continued detention is taking its toll on businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles' physical and psychological health.

"Her confinement, more than her physical health, is bringing down her will, her power to survive," Kapunan said in an interview over radio dzMM.

Napoles, the alleged key player in the P10-billion pork barrel fund scam, was rushed to the hospital on Thursday morning complaining of pain and nausea.

Doctors said that stones have formed in her ureter, making it difficult for her to discharge urine.

While Kapunan believes her client is still mentally sound, she has not been used to being in a narrow space and by herself.

"It has never happened in her life that she's locked inside a room. Kapag mag-isa siya she is talking to herself," the lawyer said.

She said they have requested that Napoles be given company in the cell due to her physical condition.

Kapunan, however, said that they are not planning to ask the court to place her under hospital arrest.

During her first days in detention at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Napoles suffered from anxiety attacks with her blood pressure increasing and her sugar level falling. Her condition only stabilized after three days.

Napoles has been summoned to appear before the Senate on November 7 in a Blue Ribbon Committee investigation on the Priority Development Assistance Funds or pork barrel scam involving some lawmakers.

The businesswoman is in jail for the serious illegal detention case filed by her cousin, Benhur Luy, the pork barrel scam whistleblower.

She is also facing plunder and malversation of public funds charges in connection with the pork barrel scam. - Camille Diola