MANILA, Philippines - Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles is now temporarily detained in a room at the livelihood center of the Taguig City Jail female dormitory at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.
Inspector Aris Villaester, spokesman for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penolgy (BJMP) – National Capital Region, said standard operating procedures allow the inmate to stay in solitary confinement for a week for initial processing before being transferred to the main dormitory.
Napoles, who is facing plunder and graft charges together with Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. in connection with the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of lawmakers, was admitted to the Taguig City Jail female dormitory run by the BJMP before midnight on Monday after she was transferred from Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
She was accompanied by her relatives and lawyers when they arrived at Camp Bagong Diwa at around 11:15 p.m.
Villaester said Napoles has undergone booking process, which included the taking of her mug shot, strip search for any body markings, cuts or bruises.
“She also requested a pillow and mat for the wooden bed inside the facility,” he said.
Villaester said Napoles’ detention room is separate from the isolation cell where another co-accused, Jessica “Gigi” Reyes, former chief of staff of Enrile, is currently detained.
Napoles’ lawyer Stephen David said the businesswoman has found peace and had left her fate in God’s hands.
He said the woman everybody seems to hate had accepted everything.
“Her life is in God’s hands,” David told The STAR in Filipino.
David said Napoles had long accepted her fate and she could actually smile at it, though there are still sad moments.
He said Napoles would have to adjust to the new environment at Camp Bagong Diwa.
David said Napoles would now have a chance to meet other high-profile inmates of the Taguig City female dormitory, including members of the Abu Sayyaf Group and New Peoples Army rebels. – With Michael Punongbayan, Mike Frialde