Immigration officials ordered to be on the lookout for Janet Lim-Napoles, brother

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a lookout bulletin order (LBO) against businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and her brother in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel fund scam.

An LBO requires all Immigration officials to be on alert in case the subject or subjects pass through immigration counters in airports and seaports, and to inform the National Prosecution Service (NPS) about it.

In issuing the order, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima noted that Napoles is currently the subject of an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the alleged use of Priority Development Assistance Funds — or pork barrel — of lawmakers for non-existent projects of fictitious foundations set up by Napoles.

Napoles and her brother, Reynald "Jojo" Lim, were earlier slapped with an illegal detention complaint before the DOJ, but the charges were dropped for lack of probable cause. They were accused of detaining Benhur Luy, a self-confessed employee of Napoles in JLN Corp, which allegedly runs the ghost foundations, after she learned he was planning to put up a similar firm to compete with her.

De Lima said the LBO was issued because the Napoles siblings were "flight risks."

"[I issued the LBO] given the gravity or magnitude of the allegations and the Napoleses' financial capacity," she said.

The DOJ only started issuing LBOs in late 2011, following a restraining order from the Supreme Court that barred the agency from issuing watchlist orders and hold departure orders.
 
De Lima said an LBO differs from a hold departure order or a watch list order in that the LBO's purpose is just to monitor an individual and not necessarily restrict him or her from leaving the country. — Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News