Tag Archives: Janet Lim-Napoles

Government, International, Law Enforcement, Politics

FORMER PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO FINDS AN ALLY IN MRS. GEORGE CLOONEY

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imageMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, a.k.a. Mrs. George Clooney,  has filed a case against the Philippine government before the United Nations over the continued detention of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Clooney filed the case on Feb 26 before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), a body under the UN Commission on Human Rights, Philippine media reported late on Sunday.

“The case concerns Arroyo’s protracted detention by the Philippine government despite her age, health condition and the court’s continued denial to grant her bail,” one of Arroyo’s lawyers, Modesto Ticman, told GMA News Online.

In filing the case, Mrs Clooney wants the UN to persuade the Philippine government to release Arroyo, who has been under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Centre (VMMC) in Quezon City.

Upon hearing of the news, Janet Lim-Napoles, suspected mastermind of the Ten Billion-peso pork barrel scam and who is currently in detention, asked to meet with Clooney. Napoles wants Clooney to handle her case in the Philippines.

“My lawyers have not  done a good job in defending me in my case. That’s why I remain in detention.  I am confident Mrs. Clooney, since we are both women, can do a  better job to exonerate me from the charges against me, and  negotiate for my release from detention,” Napoles said.

“I am willing to pay Mrs. Clooney whatever amount she demands. I have enough funds from the pork barrel scam that I masterminded, so money is not going to be a problem,” Napoles added.

Meanwhile, TV host and presidential sister Kris Aquino has reportedly sent an email to Mrs. Clooney, asking if she could help her schedule a one-on-one interview with her husband, George. “I’m a fan of George, and it would be wonderful to interview him for my gossip show,” Aquino stated in her email.

Law Enforcement, Politics, Religion

2,000 HAIL MARYS A DAY NOT ENOUGH TO ATONE FOR JANET NAPOLES’ SINS, ACCORDING TO BISHOP

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imageManila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Atty. Stephen David, lawyer for suspected pork barrel scandal mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles told reporters today that his client prays 2,000 Hail Marys everyday as a way to cope with the emotional and mental stress of incarceration.

Napoles is currently in jail in connection with the elaborate scam that diverted 10 Billion pesos of taxpayer money into fake Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and into the pockets of elected officials.  Three senators, Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla, Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada have also been arrested and jailed for their alleged involvement in the scam.

Reacting to the lawyer’s statement, Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that 2,000 Hail Marys a day is not enough for Napoles to atone for her sins. Bishop Villegas said that under the moral principle of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ Napoles would need to pray 10 Billion Hail Marys before she can even ask the Lord for pardon. “She has a long way to go,” Villegas said.

As to whether praying Hail Marys would eventually lead to Napoles’ release from prison, Villegas said, “that’s up to the Philippine government. As you know, separation of church and state is a basic tenet of the constitution.”

Reader participation: How many Hail Marys would it take for Napoles to complete 10 Billion? Post your answers in the comment section.

Business, Film and TV, Human Interest, International, Law Enforcement, Politics, Religion, The Media, Travel

IS POPE FRANCIS SET TO EXCOMMUNICATE THOSE INDICTED IN THE PHILIPPINES’ PORK BARREL SCAM?

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Rome, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles) – Pope Francis had harsh words for the Italian Mafia on Saturday, describing one crime syndicate as “the adoration of evil” and saying all mafiosi “are excommunicated” from the church. His condemnation was the strongest attack on the mob since Pope John Paul criticized the Sicilian Mafia in 1993.

Pope Francis made the remarks after visiting a stronghold of the ‘Ndrangheta, one of Italy’s most dangerous crime groups. There he comforted the jailed father of a 3-year-old boy killed in a mob ambush and condemned mob violence against children.

Vatican insiders have also hinted that the Pope is set to excommunicate notorious Filipino Catholics, notably those who were recently indicted for plunder, graft and corruption and other charges in connection with the 10 Billion Peso pork barrel scam in the Philippines.  Among those indicted were Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla, Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada, along with alleged scam mastermind businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.  As of this writing, Napoles, Revilla and Estrada have been arrested and jailed.

Napoles and the three senators are known to be devout Catholics.

Prior to being arrested and jailed, Napoles used to have the statue of the ‘miraculous’ Black Nazarene transferred from Manila’s Quiapo Catholic Church to her private residence on many occasions.

bong
Revilla

Just moments before he surrendered, Revilla wore a t-shirt that said “The Lord is on my side; I willl not fear; what can man do unto me?” Before his indictment, he and his family went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Enrile was Justice Secretary and then Defense Minister under the regime of Ferdinand E. Marcos.  Aligning himself with the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, Enrile became on of the leaders of the 1986 People Power Revolution that drove Marcos into exile.

Estrada, on the other hand, resisted calls by a member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that he apologize for betraying the people’s trust.

It wasn’t clear whether the impending excommunication would be based on the  Second Commandment (‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord they God in vain’); the Sixth Commandment (‘Thou shalt not steal’)  or the Tenth Commandment (‘Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s goods).

Perhaps, all three? And, maybe a fourth for Enrile, a known womanizer — the Ninth Commandment (‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife’).