Napoles: We control gov’t
Kidnapping led to discovery of P10B pork scam
By Nancy C. CarvajalPhilippine Daily Inquirer (Last of a series)
When agents of the National Bureau of Investigation swooped down
on March 22 on a condominium unit in the swank South Garden Pacific
Towers in Taguig City and rescued Benhur Luy, little did they know that
they were to pry open a Pandora’s box of ghost projects worth P10
billion over the past decade.
Following days of surveillance on orders of Justice Secretary
Leila de Lima and NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas, the special task force
headed by Regional Director Rolando Argabioso rescued the 31-year-old
Luy, who had been reported by his lawyer, Levito Baligod, as missing by
his parents, Arturo and Gertrudes.
Baligod’s letter dated March 1, asked De Lima’s help in locating
Luy, who the lawyer said had been detained by his employer and cousin
Janet Lim-Napoles and her brother Reynald Lim.
Luy’s parents said that Lim had warned them not to go to
authorities for assistance, telling them, “Hawak namin ang gobyerno (We
control the government).”
Napoles, president and CEO of the trading firm JLN, was alleged
to be the brains behind the multibillion-peso racket using mainly pork
barrel funds, or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), of
five senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives for
nonexistent projects. She has denied any wrongdoing.
In his letter to De Lima seeking assistance, Baligod said:
“This case initially appeared to me as simple case of serious
illegal detention. However, a further interview of witnesses revealed
that the victim was being detained to ensure that nobody could directly
implicate the above persons with the ongoing issues on the fertilizer
scam, Malampaya Fund, and anomalies in the implementation of several
PDAF-funded projects.”
A medical technology graduate, Luy joined Napoles, a distant
cousin, in September 2002 and became her personal assistant. There was a
falling out, after Napoles claimed that he took an unauthorized loan of
P5 million and ran away with P300,000 he was ordered to deposit in her
account.
After his rescue, Luy prepared a statement for the NBI detailing where he was detained by Napoles and her brother.
Ordeal begins
On the first day, Luy said he was kept in one of the rooms of the
Discovery Suites at Ortigas Center in Pasig City, but all outside calls
were barred by the hotel on orders of Napoles.
Before he was detained, he said Napoles took his pouch that
contained his driver’s license, PRC identification card, credit cards,
ATM cards, passport, various bank passbooks, check booklets and cash.
While Napoles was talking to Luy, her security escorts surrounded him.
On the second day, Luy said he was brought to Bahay San Jose at
No. 52 Lapulapu St., Magallanes Village, Makati City, where Msgr.
Josefino Ramirez and five Chinese priests were staying. There, Luy said
he was also barred from using cellular and landline phones.
He was also told not to speak to the two security guards and was
prohibited from watching television. More importantly, he was barred
from going out of the house and his movements were being jotted down on
the guard’s logbook.
He said that he was able to get out of the house on Dec. 24, Jan.
9, and Feb. 23 but under escort by Lim and his aides. Every time there
was a visitor in the priests’ residence, he was told to hide in the
chapel. He said that in the three months that he stayed with Monsignor
Ramirez, “he spoke to me only three times” but that he was unable to
speak about his plight.
Described as a drug addict
Luy said that his captors, during his detention, pictured him as a
drug addict who had to be reformed. Luy said that his family pleaded
with Lim to let them see him at least.
“But instead Lim told us that we can see him if they surrender to
him the laptop he was using and not to report anything to authorities
because hawak nila ang gobyerno,” Luy said in his affidavit.
Surrendering the laptop containing business transactions of JLN
Corp., the mother said, was the condition set by the siblings for them
to see Benhur.
On Dec. 21, based on the affidavit of Luy’s mother, Lim got the
laptop from her and told her not to report to authorities, repeating,
“Hawak namin ang gobyerno.”
According to an affidavit of Luy’s friend, Flor Villanueva, who
had possession of the laptop, she was able to copy all the files before
it was given to Lim.
In his third meeting with his family on Feb. 23, Luy said he was able to sneak a note to his sister, Annabelle, asking for help.
Personal bank accounts
Benhur in his affidavit said that Napoles cleaned out his
personal bank accounts through illegal and unauthorized withdrawals
while he was under detention.
He claimed that his personal accounts with United Coconut
Planters Bank and Metrobank that reached P1.5 million were withdrawn
through a debit memo. He added that his dollar account with a balance of
$13,000 was closed with the full amount withdrawn.
“All this I earned in the 10 years of working with JLN,” he said.
The NBI said that the operation to rescue Luy began on March 8.
When it was carried out, Lim was arrested but Napoles eluded the agents.
Lim was taken to St Luke’s Medical Center at Global City after he
complained of chest pains. He subsequently had heart surgery.
Luy told the NBI that during his detention he was moved from one
place to another—all owned by Napoles—during the day, but was returned
to Bahay San Jose to spend the night.
He said he was detained in houses located in an upscale
subdivision, high-end condominiums, and a retreat house run by retired
priests.
In his narration to the NBI, Luy claimed there was not a moment
while he was detained that he had the chance to escape. He said Lim was
always with him “when I go out of the residence of the priest, and he
was always nearby listening when I talked to my family.”
The NBI recommended the filing of kidnapping charges against
Napoles and Lim in March. The charges were dismissed on June 10 by
Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera. Now Luy stands accused of
qualified theft and no bail is recommended.
