Would you buy a used car from Janet Lim-Napoles?

“Ako ay nagbuhat sa isang simpleng pamilya. High School lamang ang narating ko, ngunit hindi ito naging hadlang sa aking pangarap. 

… ako ay naging biktima ng isang maling sistema sa ating lipunan na akala ko noon ay normal at tama at naaayon sa batas. 

…HINDI PO AKO ANG MOST GUILTY, sapagkat hindi po ako isang elected, o appointed official, o empleyado ng pamahalaan na may mas mataas na katungkulan at responsibilidad na pangalagaan ang pondo ng bayan.”

These were some of the elegiac words in the affidavit of Janet Lim Napoles submitted last May 26, 2014. Prior to this, she had a sworn declaration dated May 12, which contained among others,

“… my request for the exclusion of my children James Christopher Lim Napoles and Jo Christine Napoles from the above mentioned Complaints. My children had no knowledge, participation and involvement whatsoever in the subject cases.

…before undergoing surgery, God answered my prayer by giving me the chance to talk to the Honorable Secretary Leila de Lima and this bolstered my belief that indeed, TELLING THE TRUTH, will set me free.

… I am not capable and do not have the ‘skill’ to run such a complicated scheme given my humble beginning…”

The self-effacing statements are speciously meant to elicit sympathy and reinforce her contention that she is not crafty enough to be the mastermind of the pork barrel scam. Hence she could not possibly be the “most guilty.” This of course is a precondition to qualify as a state witness.

As predicted, the ‘Napolists’ elicited an angry chorus of denials from those implicated. Ping Lacson’s calculation that it could trigger the collapse of the Senate was premature, but it did earn him precious media mileage. Sandra Cam also had another bout of 15-minute fame.

But just how much stock can we put on Napoles’ testimony? And if she truly lacks the cunning, then who’s the real brains behind the recent maneuvers she put into play? Who, aside from Napoles herself, stands to gain from muddying the waters?

Blood Money

A probe into Napoles’ past instantly exposed that she was no virgin when it came to controversy. Two decades ago, Former Marine Colonel Ariel Querubin’s tragic encounter with Janet aka Jenny, proved fatal for his 31-year-old wife, Dr Loreta Cercenia. (READ: Janet Napoles and a tragic past)

In 1993, Querubin was released from jail for his involvement in the failed December 1989 coup, where he and fellow Captain Jaime Napoles were both wounded. Querubin was reinstated and eventually assigned to Basilan, while Napoles took early retirement.

Querubin discovered that Jenny Napoles had swayed his wife and another military doctor to invest in a purported Cebu shipyard with the promise of a 5% monthly interest. By end-1993, it became clear that the shipyard was bogus, the checks were bouncing and Jenny had become hard to find. In fact, Napoles had lent/paid the money to another person, in what seems to be a Ponzi-like scheme.

The day after the confrontation with Jenny Napoles to get back her money, Lorie passed away from sudden pulmonary hypertension.

In her PDI interview, Janet claimed that their wealth came from investments in Indonesian coal mines in the early-90s.

The graft-ridden Kevlar deal

By 1998, Janet Napoles had reinvented herself as a military supplier consorting with the generals. In what seems like the precursor of the PDAF scam, Napoles won a contract from the Philippine Marines to supply 500 Kevlar helmets for P3.8 million. (READ: How Janet Lim-Napoles got away)

For this deal, Janet used her mother, brother and sister-in-law’s names to put up dummy companies that participated in the bid. Records show that of the 5 participating suppliers, the Marines accredited only one. The rest were fictitious or had residential addresses.

To facilitate payments that required only Lt. Gen Edgardo Espinosa’s signature as PMC commandant, the contract price was released in 14 equal purchase orders of P293,763.56 paid out to 7 firms. All 14 checks were encashed in Napoles’ Security Bank account, at Pasong Tamo on the same day!

Janet Napoles delivered substandard helmets more than one year after she was paid. The helmets were not made in the US, but in Taiwan.

On Oct 28, 2010, the Sandiganbayan’s 4^th division headed by Gregory Ong, convicted Reynaldo Luy-Lim, and Anna Marie Dulguime Napoles’ brother and sister-in-law, for falsification of public documents, along with other Marines. Janet and husband were found not guilty for lack of evidence.

Her Holiness

Janet Napoles not only hobnobbed with senators, congressmen and generals. She has close ties with the clergy too. A home for priests in Magallanes is managed by Monsignor Josefino S. Ramirez, a previous rector of the Quiapo Church, who confirmed that he receives a monthly stipend of ₱150,000 and lives in one of 28 Napoles’ houses in the Philippines. 

According to the SEC, other family members own properties in the US. Her daughter Jeanne, flaunted her US$2-million Ritz Carlton unit in Los Angeles as well as a sports car and designer shoes and bags on social media! The other daughter Jo Christine Napoles is the president of the Metro Manila chapter of the OFW Family Club partylist who vied for a Congress seat in 2013 but later withdrew her nomination. 

The Department of Justice has counted around 415 accounts with 17 different banks. The Napoles family also maintains a fleet of 30 vehicles, all registered under the JLN Group of Companies. But records show that from 2009 to 2011, her flagship firm paid less in yearly taxes than a public school teacher earning P21,500 a month.

In her two affidavits, Janet Napoles designated Budget Secretary Butch Abad as the one who mentored her to put up her own NGOs in year 2000. But the fact is, she was already doing that as early as 1998. She claims that she does not have the “skill” for complex schemes, but as early as 1993, she was already doing a “Ponzi.” She pleads that she is not the “most guilty,” but she has perverted the military, Congress, government agencies, and even the Church.

No, JLN is not a naïve novice. But she probably has to be told that the most fundamental requirement for a state witness is to tell the truth. For that, she will definitely need mentoring. – Rappler.com