MANILA, Philippines – It might take over a year for a Makati court to hear the serious illegal detention case filed against alleged pork barrel queen Janet Lim Napoles.

“With the number of witnesses, baka abutin tayo ng isang year. The court will accommodate special attention to the case. We set something every week for the Napoles case alone,” Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Clerk of Court Diosfa Valencia told Rappler. (It might take up to a year.)

The defense plans to present over 17 witnesses, compared to only one during the hearing for Napoles’ bail petition. Among the possible witnesses are Napoles herself and her brother and co-accused Reynald Lim.

Napoles is currently detained at Fort Sto Domingo in Sta Rosa, Laguna for serious illegal detention charges filed by trusted aide-turned-pork-barrel-scam-whistleblower Benhur Luy. Napoles’ brother is also charged but is currently at large.

The prosecution, meanwhile, has yet to determine its final number of witnesses, but may add more before the first trial day on February 18. Both sides have yet to present their full list of witnesses.

The alleged head of the pork barrel scam earlier filed a motion for bail before the court but this was denied.

On January 17, Friday, both sides came for the marking of exhibits. Lawyer Francisco Tolentino represented Napoles, while Prosecutor Edmund Sena came in for the prosecution.

Priests for Napoles

Several priests are expected to come in as witnesses for the defense. Napoles is known to be a patron of many priests, picking up where her mother, Magdalena Luy Lim, left off. Her mother died in 2008.

During the bail hearing, one of Napoles’ favored priests, Fr Peter Lavin, was the defense’s sole witness. During the trial proper, the following are expected to take the stand for the defense:

1. Fr Paul Yang
2. Fr. Peter Go
3. Fr. John Ma
4. Fr. Paul Dong
5. Monsignor Josefino Ramirez

Ramirez is among Napoles’ favored priests. He rents a Napoles property in Magallanes Village, Makati City. Luy was allegedly detained at the Magallanes property from December 2012 to March 2013.

He is also renting a Forbes Park property on Narra Avenue for P280,000 a month. (READ: Priest rents Napoles Forbes Park house) 

According to the minutes of the court proceedings, the following affidavits will be presented during the trial. These are besides the affidavits that were already presented during bail hearings:

1. Affidavit of Patricio Asoy 
2. Affidavit of William Lim 
3. Affidavit of Jetron A. Bande
4. Affidavit of Madylon Habana
5. Affidavit of Ana Maria Lim 
6. Affidavit of Fernando Masayon 
7. Affidavit of Feliciano Alcantara 
8. Affidavit of Erie Cabangcal 
9. Affidavit of Expedito Rosales 
10. Affidavit of Peter John Castillo 
11. Counter-affidavit of Janet Lim Napoles 
12. Counter-affidavit of Reynald Lim

Bank records, additional evidence

The prosecution, meanwhile, may add up to 4 more witnesses for the trial. Officers from banks involved in the alleged transfer of Luy’s funds to Napoles’ JLN Corporation accounts will be called by the prosecution.

Valencia said the order in which witnesses will be called by both the prosecution and defense hasn’t been determined yet. Both sides may also call on surprise witnesses during the trial.

The defense has filed a Motion for Reconsideration on the denial of the bail plea. The prosecution initially had until Jan 8, 2014 to file an opposition to the MR, but was granted a 15-day extension by Makati RTC Judge Elmo Alameda.

With or without the opposition, however, the court will resolve the Motion for Reconsideration within 30 days from Jan 28, 2014.

The first hearing has been set for Feb 18, 2014 at 9:30 in the morning. – Rappler.com