Court issues freeze order vs. Napoles assets, bank accounts

(Updated 6:19 p.m.) A Manila court has issued a freeze order on the bank accounts and properties of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, effectively preventing her from having access to these assets during the duration of a forfeiture case filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) against her and more than 70 other people.

Last month, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 22 had issued a Provisional Assets Preservation Order (PAPO) that was only effective for 20 days.

In its latest order, the court said the AMLC's allegations in its forfeiture petition filed last Feb. 25 against the respondents would show that the source of their bank deposits "originated from the non-government organizations which were the recipients of the government funds (Priority Development Assistance Fund)." GMA News Online obtained a copy of the order.

Napoles is facing plunder charges for allegedly masterminding an elaborate scheme to divert some P10 billion in pork barrel funds from lawmakers, many of whom supposedly got kickbacks, into ghost projects and dubious non-government organizations.

Other individuals covered by the freeze order were former Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza and former Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa, as well as scam whistleblowers Benhur Luy and Simonette Briones, Luy's mother Gertrudes, and potential witness Ruby Tuason.

Energy Regulatory Commission chairperson Zenaida Ducut and around 70 other personalities and non-government organizations connected to Napoles were also covered by the order.

"An asset preservation order is hereby issued enjoining the respondents and all the individuals acting in their behalf to refrain from transacting, removing, converting, concealing or through any other mode of disposing each covered bank accounts and monetary instruments in the banks or financial institution of respondents, motor vehicles and real properties, in accordance with law," said the Manila court in its 35-page order.

Assets linked to crimes

The court said that "at this stage of the proceedings... the evidence of respondents failed to overcome the probable cause finding of the Court that their bank accounts and other properties are linked to the predicate crimes alleged in the petition, and to prove their claim that the funds in the bank and the properties subject of the PAPO, were legitimately acquired."

The respondents, including the Napoles camp, had argued that the AMLC should not have been allowed access to their bank records because they are protected under the Bank Secrecy Law.

However, the court said AMLC did not violate the Bank Secrecy Law when it conducted an inquiry into the respondents' accounts, because the agency did so with proper authorization from the Court of Appeals.

The Manila court also said the respondents' claim that the preservation order should not have covered their dollar accounts under Republic Act 6426 or the Foreign Currency Act "overlooked the purpose of the enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering Law" or RA 9160.

The court stressed that the Anti-Money Laundering Law ensures that the Philippines shall not be used to hide the proceeds from any unlawful activity.

The legislative branch - when it crafted the Foreign Currency Act - "presumably never so intended" that the conversion of peso proceeds from unlawful acts to dollar or any foreign currency would "shield" the ill-gotten wealth from the law, the court added.

No immunity

The court also agreed with the AMLC that principal pork barrel fund scam whistleblower Benhur Luy should not be exempted from the coverage of the freeze order, because his supposed "immunity" under the Witness Protection Program can only be invoked in criminal proceedings and not civil ones like the forfeiture case.

Among the real properties covered by the freeze order are those of the Napoles family in Pangasinan and Cotabato, as well as condominium units registered under their companies in Malate, Manila, and Pasig City.

Motor vehicles of the Napoleses, JLN Corp, and Luy among others, were likewise covered by the assets preservation order.

Napoles is currently detained for the non-bailable offense of serious illegal detention filed by Luy, who exposed the scam last year.

Executive Judge Marino dela Cruz, in a 22-page PAPO issued last March, effectively disallowed any transactions connected to the bank accounts not only of Napoles but also of her brother Reynald Lim, husband James, and their children James Christopher, Jeane Catherine, Jane Catherine and John Christian.

Among the assets covered by the order were four bank accounts belonging to Luy and seven bank accounts belonging to Napoles.

No link to illegal activity?

In their defense, the Napoles camp said the civil forfeiture case violated Section 4c of the Rules and Procedures on Civil Forfeiture Cases because the AMLC “failed to allege specific acts or omissions as well as particular provisions of Anti-Money Laundering Act as amended.”

Napoles lawyer Lannie David, during the last hearing two weeks ago, insisted that the case lacked legal and factual basis. She said the AMLC failed to establish that probable cause exists to show Napoles' properties were connected to illegal activity.

David also said the bank accounts were not covered by AMLC because the amounts in each of the accounts were less than the required P500,000 under the law. — KBK/JDS/YA, GMA News