No cakes and VIPs on Napoles' 50th birthday

For someone accustomed to holding lavish parties attended by VIPs, it takes getting used to.

On Wednesday, detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles celebrated her 50th birthday without the glitter and glamour that marked the parties she organized in the past — at least those that were shown in the media when her name erupted on national headlines.

In fact, for this year, there wasn't even a party for the alleged mastermind of the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

“There was no request for the holding of any party from her and her family,” said Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, chief information officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“And even if they did request for a party, this will certainly not be allowed,” added Sindac.

Though a respondent in a plunder complaint in connection with the pork barrel scam, Napoles is under government custody due to a separate serious illegal detention case pending before the Makati Regional Trial Court.

Sindac said on her 50th birthday, Napoles had ham, egg and sinigang na baboy for breakfast, and paksiw na bangus for dinner.

“It’s just an ordinary day for her,” Sindac said. “Her relatives did not even request for extension of visiting hours.”

And neither did they bring cake, as visitors were not allowed to bring any food to Napoles, Sindac said.

Napoles, who has denied involvement in the pork barrel scam, has been in the custody of the PNP’s elite Special Action Force (SAF) since September last year and is staying at a detention facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The Makati RTC has yet to rule on Napoles' bail petition. — KBK, GMA News