Janet Napoles is in custody, but rather than treating her as a prisoner, she is being treated like a rock star, with protection from PNP’s special force and an air-conditioned cubicle at Camp Crame.
After almost 2 weeks evading the warrant of arrest for serious illegal detention of her relative whistleblower Ben Hur Luy, she willingly came out from her hideway, groomed herself like a diva with lawyer in tow, and asked protection from the President no less — who few hours earlier had announced a P10 million reward for anyone providing direction to her foxhole. (Rappler though said she was dressed informally with a hoodie.)
They should have put manacle in her and presented her to the media in pink prison garb instead of showing her old footage dashingly well-coiffed and in elegant business dark blue dress with wide lapel lined with immaculate white fabric.
But handcuffs befit only ordinary prisoners without powerful allies.
Why ask for protection when she was not even the whistleblower in the case but Ben Hur and other dummies of her ghost NGOs?
If harms come to her, is that not supposed to be a given factor if you converted huge government funds for social services into your own personal fortune? It is quite ironic that government resources should still hemmorhage to provide safety to those who caused it.
The well-connected can always define the terms of how should they be processed in courts. After all, her lawyer, Lorna K, previously worked in the same law office with Malacanang Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, according to DILG Secretary Mar Roxas. Lorna K, Roxas said, phoned Lacierda to inform him about the feelers of surrender by Napoles. Lacierda assured them that they can see the President after Napoles is a fugitive no more. The president had welcomed her surrender and had asked PNP operatives and high government functionaries to fetch her. After pleasantries, the President assured her of protection and asked DILG Secretary Mar Roxas to meet the press to brief them about her sudden change of heart and willingness to face the music on her own terms.
Roxas’ performance with the press proves to be a total disaster. He was actually telling his audience that Ms. Napoles life was under threat that requires assurance from the president for her safety.. Are not the people supposed to be the ones protected from the likes of Ms. Napoles and not the other way around?
Of course ordinary fugitives cannot have an audience with the President – but Ms. Napoles was a high-profile fugitive, her padrinos are powerful – and her lawyer and a Malacanang spokesman are friends.
Ms. Napoles created quite a furor when she evaded the arrest causing social media citizens to pillory Secretary Laila De Lima for her ill-timed announcement for her arrest. As President aware of the flaks thrown at his Secretary of Justice, he should have steered the surrender of Napoles to Secretary De Lima and let her take the center stage of this highly-charged drama. But he put Mar Roxas in-charge instead, perhaps hoping that the situation could bolster Roxas’ chances for 2016 presidential election. But Roxas seems so sympathetic to Ms. Napoles and so was his wife Korina, according to those who watched her interview Napoles in her program prior to her being hauled to court!
It was this obvious sympathy to his quarry that makes Roxas looked puny in front of TV cameras. One blog commenter even accused Roxas as having been enriched by P10 Million through Janet Napoles’ shady connections.
Nevertheless, there was a devious attempt to picture Ms. Napoles as a ‘victim’ rather than a ‘victimizer.’ She is being portrayed as the lesser criminal who could turn State witness, — against the bigger ones the Senators and Congressmen which is very misleading.
If the ‘whistleblower’s tale was accurate, Ms. Napoles should be considered the biggest crook not the innocent facilitator of much bigger crooks. For every PDAF peso, she gets 25 cents, the Senators and Congressmen, 75 cents. Or Ms. Napoles gets 25 per cent of every peso and the Senator and Congressman get 75 per cent of every peso.
If we believe the initial report that some 100 congressmen and 5 senators were involved and each senator has a P200 Million annual PDAF and P70 Million each congressmen, then it is very easy to do the math. Let us round off to 100 the lawmakers who were involved in this scandal. Five senators at P200 Million equals P1 Billion. 95 Congressmen multiplied by P70 Million equals P6.65 Billion. P1 B + P6.65 B =P7.65 Billion.
Ms. Napoles gets twenty five per cent of the entire P7.65 Billion or a total of P1.91 Billion.
Senator X gets only 75 per cent o P200 Million which is P150 Million.
Congressman X gets 75 per cent of P70 Million which is P52.5 Million.
But the figure above was only for one year operation!
For those who already shed tears for Ms. Napoles’ arrest and consider her the lesser crook being offered as a sacrificial goat by the bigger crooks — must really that dumb!
Viewpoint Neutral 
So she was hiding for over two weeks ! and the negotiation finished ! now she is the sacrificial goat ! Why the drive thru traffic and the blaring wang wang? why not where she was in the first place. By the way this fugitive of all fugitive have so much importance. You think next she will be demanding for pardon since she got the Pnoy by the balls. SOP ! make sure those bigger crooks are in the row or your boss will be angry.
The symbolism of having a high-profile fugitive entertained by the President no less is lost on this administration… Perception matters and subsequent events would give credence to that perception that Ms. Napoles got a special treatment from the administration. Less influential fugitives are manacled and presented to the media and marched directly behind prison bars.
Ms. Napoles got to be received by the President and turned over to a cubicle in Camp Crame (without allowing the press to photograph her) instead of being jailed just like ordinary prisoners held in a jail under the jurisdiction of the court that issued the arrest orders.
Only in the Philippines ! I have no clue ! I feel I’m reading or watching a cartoon….ever watch the Squid bellies or Aqua team on adult swim ? sick !
🙂
makes me sick to the pit of my stomach just thinking about it. a big thief being treated like this whereas other people who have committed less despicable crimes are shackled, harassed and thrown in jail asap. i rankle at the thought that criminals like Janet, gma and other politicians seem to be treated with more respect than the poor filipinos who toil honestly each day. nakakasuka.
That’s the sentiment right now by the common people on the street that went to Luneta lately..