Whistle-blower Luy drops lawyer for divided attention

MANILA, Philippines - Benhur Luy, the primary whistle-blower in the pork barrel scam, has dropped Levito Baligod as his lawyer.

Luy said he had to end Baligod’s services, citing the latter’s divided attention on the pork barrel issue.

“I have noticed that you were very busy with your other advocacies that is why I have decided to pursue this journey even without you guiding me,” Luy told Baligod in a letter released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday.

“It will not be easy though, but this will mutually benefit us in the end,” Luy said. He stressed he was thankful for Baligod’s help.

“It has been a rough and rugged world for us, and for all you have done, I am eternally thankful… I would like to thank you for your time in protecting my rights and representing me in my legal battles,” he said.

It was Luy who first spilled the beans on the connivance between businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and some lawmakers in skimming billions of pesos from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Napoles is in detention at Fort St. Domingo in Sta. Rosa for a serious illegal detention case filed by Luy, who is a relative and former employee.

In a press conference, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she first heard of Luy’s issue with Baligod several weeks ago.

“I thought they would patch up whatever difference they had. I thought it would not come to this point where he (Luy) would have to replace his lawyer,” she said.

“But we have to respect the decision of Benhur. That is his prerogative,” she explained, adding that the development would not have an effect on cases now undergoing preliminary investigation in the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the PDAF scam. PDAF is the official term for the congressional pork barrel.

De Lima said she knew nothing of other reasons for Luy’s dropping Baligod and that any other reason would be a “very privileged matter.”

She said a team of three to four “young lawyers” would take Baligod’s place. She did not identify them.

The DOJ chief said she was not sure if Merlina Suñas, the other whistle-blower represented by Baligod, has made the same decision as Luy.

The replacement of Baligod came after his reported presentation to the Ombudsman of two new possible witnesses in the PDAF scam without De Lima’s approval or knowledge.

De Lima said Baligod had admitted assisting two respondents in the PDAF cases, but did not clarify their status – whether they’re offering themselves as state witnesses.

“He didn’t explain anymore who exactly they are and what business they had with the ombudsman,” she revealed.

De Lima said the lawyer later apologized to her for “forgetting to clear (his move) with me.”

But Baligod, she said, denied saying in a report that he brought the witnesses straight to the ombudsman’s office and not to the DOJ to avoid too much noise and the possibility of prematurely revealing their identities.

No SLMC stay?

De Lima also said they are considering opposing the bid of Napoles to undergo surgery and be confined at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Global City in Taguig.

“We leave it to the discretion of the court but we will discuss that with the prosecutors, whether or not to file an opposition,” De Lima told reporters.

“I have to discuss that with our prosecutors because there was already a check-up, so I am not sure if that (request) is still allowable – unless they would be able to show that the results of the earlier check-up were inaccurate,” she said.

De Lima was reacting to a motion filed last Monday by lawyers of Napoles asking Makati regional trial court Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda to allow her to undergo “post-operative case” at the hospital.

De Lima recalled that the prosecution panel did not contest Napoles’ visit to the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame last Feb. 26 for a transvaginal ultrasound medical check-up because the procedure was only for a day.

The DOJ chief also said they are reviewing calls for the transfer of Napoles from her present detention at the PNP-Special Action Force training school in Fort Sto. Domingo to a regular detention cell.

“We are studying that very carefully. It’s not something we can easily resolve. The suggestion to transfer her from Sta. Rosa to a regular jail could be very valid and legitimate, but it’s not as easy as that,” she said, adding that the businesswoman’s safety is a primary concern.

“We need to examine the repercussions, especially at this point when Mrs. Napoles has not spilled the beans yet. What if she decides to finally tell all? That could waste a singular opportunity for the central figure of the controversy to speak up,” she said.

In an 11-page motion, Napoles – through lawyers Fay Isaguirre Singson and Evita Magnolia Ansaldo – said she wants the operation to remove a cyst in her uterus performed at the SLMC-Global where her trusted personal physician Elsie Badillo-Pascua works. With Marvin Sy, Mike Frialde, Aie Balagtas-See