‘Deeply hurt’ by social media, Napoles asks court to keep new mug shots private

She has been "deeply hurt" before and can bear no more public humiliation.

 

This was the statement of the lawyers of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles in asking the five divisions of the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court to keep her mug shots for the new batch of cases filed against her in connection with the multibillion-peso pork barrel fund scam private.

 

"We respectfully request that the mugshot of our client previously submitted to the court as well as the new mug shot which will be taken and submitted to the court in connection with the aforementioned new cases be kept private and confidential and be used only for records/court's purposes," lawyers said in a two-page motion separately filed on Monday before the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Divisions of the anti-graft court.

 

Napoles was named as co-accused in new plunder and graft cases that the Office of the Ombudsman filed earlier this month against five former members of the House of Representatives in connection with the pork scam.

 

In the motion, Napoles' lawyers said the release of the mug shots to the media might lead to more public humiliation against their client, especially on social media.

 

"These mug shots, once made available to the public, could be used as an instrument in furtherance of the malicious designs of the public to crucify her and make a mockery of her pictures," her lawyers said in the motion.

 

They added their client has yet to be found guilty of the charges against her, but that "the presumption of innocence is not being observed by the public, especially in the social media."

 

Lawyers Stephen David, Lanee David, and Dennis Buenaventura said they do not want a repeat of what happened with their client last year when her mug shots leaked to the media and spread online.

 

"When the alleged PDAF scam cases were filed against Senators [Ramon Jr.] Revilla, [Jinggoy] Estrada and [Juan Ponce] Enrile, her mug shots circulated in the social media and were made public. She was subjected to inhumane and offensive remarks and was deeply hurt," lawyers said.

 

Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, was co-accused in plunder and graft charges against the three senators filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in June last year.

 

Napoles is currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Female Dormitory in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. — JDS, GMA News