CA upholds illegal detention case vs Napoles brod

MANILA, Philippines - The brother of Janet Lim-Napoles will be indicted on charges of serious illegal detention of Benhur Luy on orders of the Court of Appeals (CA).

Reynald Lim’s trial before the Makati Regional Trial Court   Branch 150 can now proceed and the warrant of arrest against him will be in effect.

In a resolution promulgated last July 2, the CA special seventh division denied Lim’s motion for reconsideration for lack of merit.

It dismissed Lim’s argument that it had prejudged the case in its earlier decision.

“We are not prejudging the criminal case or the guilt or innocence of the petitioner,” read the CA decision.

“We are simply saying that, as a general rule, if the information is valid on its face there is no showing of manifest error, grave abuse of discretion or prejudice on the part of the public prosecutor, courts should not dismiss it for ‘want of evidence’ because evidentiary matters should be presented and heard during the trial.”

Associate Justice Noel Tijam wrote the decision. Associate Justices Romeo Barza and Ramon Cruz concurred.

Napoles has a similar petition before another division of the CA, which has yet to rule on her separate appeal.

In his complaint, Luy said after Napoles confiscated his bag and cell phones, he was   locked up in a room where Napoles and her brother interrogated him.

The following day, he was taken to the Bahay ni San Jose, which he knew Napoles owned, he added.

A person guarded him at all times, Luy said.

His family corroborated his claim that he was deprived of his liberty.

They said that they were unable to contact him from Dec. 19, 2012 until his rescue on March 22, 2013 by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.