Napoles kids seek Sandigan nod to go to US to face charges, stay there until cases resolved

Two children of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles have asked the Sandiganbayan to allow them to fly out of the country to defend themselves against civil and criminal cases pending before United States courts.

Claiming they are not flight risks, Jo Christine and James Christopher Napoles asked the anti-graft court to "momentarily" lift the hold departure order against them and permit them to travel to the US on November 15 and stay there until the cases are terminated.

They did not specify a date of return in their urgent motion filed October 17.

But the two, through their counsel, "strongly assured" the Sandiganbayan "that they will return to the Philippines, not only to bolster their innocence, but also to perform their duties as accused in this case."

Jo Christine and James Christopher are out on bail as they face graft and malversation charges in connection with the P900-million Malampaya fund scam.

In August, a US federal grand jury indicted them, their mother, and two other family members for conspiracy to commit money laundering, domestic money laundering, and international money laundering.

They allegedly funneled some $20 million in Philippine public funds in and out of the US through a supposed bribery and fraud scheme involving lawmakers' Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

They also face a civil forfeiture action that is supposedly based on allegations that the money used to purchase "various assets" in the US was derived from "fraudulent activities" by Janet, with their assistance.

In their motion before the Sandiganbayan, Jo Christine and James Christopher said that they have been required to personally appear during arraignment, hearings on motions, and trial in their cases abroad. They provided an address and a contact number for when they are in the US.

They also moved that they be exempted from posting another travel bond since the amount of bail is "overwhelmingly huge in these cases, and that, if allowed, they will be posting travel  bonds in the case of People v. Enrile... which is pending before the same court." — MDM, GMA News