LOS ANGELES – Jeane Napoles, daughter of the accused mastermind behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam, is no longer selling her unit in the posh Ritz Carlton in Los Angeles.
Her mother, Janet Napoles, who witnesses said was linked to the pork barrel and Malampaya fund scams, had earlier admitted having bought the property as a “reward” for her daughter for doing well in school.
According a recent report by ABS-CBN’s Steve Angeles, MLS documents showed that the sale listing of the Ritz Carlton unit owned by the younger Napoles was withdrawn on Sept. 23, shortly after it appeared on some real estate websites.
The 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom unit covers an area of over 1,500 square feet. The listing was selling the unit for $1.475 million, or roughly P63.634 million.
Filipino activists in LA believed that the mounting public pressure and the freeze on Napoles’ assets could have caused the withdrawal.
Arturo Garcia, an advocate for the US Action Against Pork Barrel (USAAP), said that prospective buyers may have also been put off by the Philippine government’s moves against the Napoles properties.
“Legal notice has been served to [the Napoleses], and there’s also a caveat or warning to prospecetive buyers that these properties are basically acquired through illegal methods,” Garcia said in a Balitang America report.
“That’s why if they buy it, they will be in the quandary,” he added.
The Napoleses also own other properties in the US, including the Anaheim Express Inn in Orange County, a $1.4 million home in an affluent gated community in Irvine, and a commercial property in Covina in LA County.
The Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had recently filed tax evasion raps against Jeane Napoles. According to BIR Commissioner Kim Henares, Jeane is being sued for P32.06 million in tax liability, inclusive of interests and surcharges.
The younger Napoles is being charged for not declaring an income when she was able to acquire and register real estate properties under her name.
Garcia said that with the Ritz Carlton property no longer up for sale, recovery of the Napoleses’ ill-gotten wealth easier.
“Although the process has been slow, the Philippine government has learned valuable lessons from the Marcos properties,” Garcia said to Balitang America.
“That’s why there will be a lot of money that can be recovered for the good of the people,” he added.
According to sources, Jeane had already vacated the Ritz Carlton unit. Witnesses said that individuals were seen carting out her belongings as early as late August.
Sources also said that the unit, while still registered under Jeane’s name, appears to be currently under occupancy of a Filipino couple.
There have been no reported movements or attempts to sell the three other Napoles properties in the US.
(With reports from Balitang America and Philippine Daily Inquirer)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek October 23-25, 2013 Sec A pg.4)