Ombudsman pushes Napoles’ transfer to Correctional
State prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday maintained that detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles must already be transferred to a national prison facility under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) following her conviction for plunder in connection with the multibillion-peso pork barrel fund scam.
In an opposition paper filed yesterday, the ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) urged the Sandiganbayan First Division to deny Napoles’ urgent motion to remain at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Female Dormitory inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
The prosecution said Napoles failed to substantiate her claim in her motion that her impending transfer to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, a facility under BuCor, would put her life at risk.
“Convict Napoles neither showed nor submitted any proof of the alleged threats to her life and security, due to her involvement in high profile cases involving high-ranking public officials, while in detention,” the prosecution’s paper read.
The prosecution also cited the Supreme Court’s Administrative Circular No. 26-2000 which directs all trial court judges to issue a mittimus or commitment order to enforce the transfer of all convicted prisoners, sentenced to imprisonment of more than three years, to national penitentiary under the BuCor.
Under the SC circular, all trial judges concerned must issue the mittimus “immediately” after the prisoners’ conviction “whether or not they (prisoners) have appealed” the court’s verdict.
Furthermore, the prosecution noted that Napoles’ motion, filed on Dec. 7, does not bear any Notice of Hearing, thus it is considered “a mere scrap of paper” that does not deserve the court’s consideration.
The prosecution pointed out that under Sections 4 and 5, Rule 15 of the Rules of Court, a movant must always set the time and place of the hearing of a motion in order to provide due process to both the prosecution and the defense.