Janet Lim-Napoles

Janet Luy Lim was born in Malabon, then a municipality of Rizal. She is the fourth of five children of a Chinese Filipino couple: Johnny Co Lim (born Lim King Sing) and Magdalena "Nelly" Lim Luy. The family lived in Binondo, Manila until December 1970, when Johnny Co Lim died, and Luy returned with her children to her hometown of Maluso, Basilan. Napoles, who was six at the time, studied at the Maluso Central Elementary School, and completed her secondary education at a local Claretian school. The family ran the Luys' sari-sari store, and delivered drinks to workers at the local port. However, some residents of Maluso have claimed that the Luys were a rich family, owning a fish drying business and plots of land. As the security situation in Basilan began to deteriorate, and the family received threats of extortion, the Lim family moved back to Manila. Napoles reportedly met her husband, Jaime G. Napoles, on board a ferry which traversed between Mindanao and Visayas. They married in April 1982, when she was 18. In Manila, the couple lived in Fort Bonifacio, where the young Napoles ran a carinderia. ==Business career and government involvement==

Napoles's business interests date back to the early 1990s. In 1993, she solicited for investments in a shipyard in Cebu, promising 5% interest on all investments. It was later discovered that the money was not invested in the shipyard: according to Col. Ariel Querubin, who was a friend of the Napoles family, the money they had invested in the shipyard was reportedly invested elsewhere, with Napoles pocketing the interest. While the investment was eventually recovered, Querubin claims the investment led to the death of his first wife. Napoles has been linked with an alleged misuse of PDAF, together with Philippine Senators Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, and other congressmen. She was convicted of plunder on December 7, 2018, for her involvement in the PDAF scam, with the conviction being upheld by the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court on March 13, 2019. In 2021, the Sandiganbayan convicted Napoles on three counts of graft and three counts of malversation, along with Cagayan de Oro Rep. Constantino Jaraula and three others, in connection with the pork barrel scam. Napoles was sentenced to 6 to 10 years imprisonment for each count of graft and 12 to 18 years for each count of malversation. Napoles stole government funds through the state-owned Technology and Livelihood Resource Center and the nongovernmental organization Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic Development Foundation. In October 2023, Napoles was convicted by the Sandiganbayan of 9 counts of corruption of a public official while former APEC party-list Rep. Edgar Valdez was convicted of 9 counts of direct bribery. Also in October 2023, the Sandiganbayan convicted Napoles of 4 counts of graft and 4 counts of malversation of public funds, in connection with the PDAF of former South Cotabato Rep. Arthur Pingoy Jr. Illegal detention case Napoles was accused of illegally detaining Benhur Luy, her cousin and former employee in 2014. Luy's three-month custody under Napoles ended in March 2014. Napoles alleged that Luy took a ₱5.5 million loan under her name without her authorization. She also alleged that Luy was supposed to deposit ₱300,000 into her account but did not do so, accusing Luy of theft. Luy insists that he was detained by Napoles due to fears that he would expose Napoles's alleged significant role in the PDAF scam. Lim was later found guilty beyond reasonable doubt and was sentenced to reclusión perpetua on April 14, 2015. Napoles and her lawyers have indicated that they will appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals. 2017 motion to acquit The Office of the Solicitor General with the court of appeals filed a "manifestation in lieu of rejoinder" recommending the acquittal of Janet Lim Napoles in the Luy detention case. This motion by the Solicitor General Jose Calida was backed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who said that he himself would move for the dismissal of the case citing selective prosecution under Aquino administration. The criminal actions must proceed against all responsible according to Duterte. Fertilizer fund scam Napoles and six others were indicted in 2018 for their involvement in the Fertilizer Fund scam. The group was indicted for graft and malversation of public funds over PHP5 million worth of projects, including the anomalous purchase of fertilizers in 2004 in Surigao del Norte. Fertilizer funds totaling ₱728 million were allegedly diverted in a vote-buying scheme involving favored local officials. Malampaya fund scam Napoles is facing charges for her alleged involvement in the Malampaya fund scam. The case involves the misuse of ₱900 million sourced from the fund for disaster response operations in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana) and Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) in 2009. The amount did not go to the communities affected by the disasters, but was allegedly plundered after being released to nongovernmental organizations linked to Napoles. Napoles was charged for plunder by the National Bureau of Investigation before the Ombudsman in October 2013, along with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, former executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, former agrarian reform secretary Nasser Pangandaman. Napoles and Andaya were charged in 2019 before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. ==Personal life==

Janet Napoles's husband was a major in the Philippine Marine Corps who participated in the God Save the Queen coup attempt against President Corazón Aquino. Jo Christine and James Christopher were charged with graft related to the pork barrel scam and the Malampaya fund scam. Janet Napoles, children Jo Christine, James Cristopher, and Jean Catherine, her brother Reynald Luy Lim, and his wife Ana Marie were indicted by a U.S. court for domestic and international money laundering. There are conflicting accounts as to the net worth of the Napoles family. While Napoles has described her family as middle class, acquaintances in Basilan claim that her maternal family had old money, which she confirmed in an earlier interview as having inherited. Her extended family in Basilan, however, has denied her claims of such an inheritance. She has also claimed that most of her wealth was due to sound investments, mostly with coal trading in several countries but particularly in Indonesia. However, the profitability of Napoles' business ventures has been questioned: according to disclosures made with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2011 and 2012, the corporations under the JLN Group of Companies reported a total net income of less than ₱1 million, and Merlina Suñas, one of the whistleblowers in the PDAF scam, has alleged that the Napoleses are not knowledgeable about the coal industry. In other disclosures made to the SEC, it was revealed that Napoles owned at least 28 houses in a number of cities in Luzon, with her family members also holding property in the United States. She also maintains, according to the Department of Justice, around 415 accounts with seventeen banks. The Napoles family also maintains a fleet of 30 vehicles, which are all registered under the flagship company of the JLN Group of Companies, JLN Corporation. Napoles is a member of the Roman Catholic Church and has close ties with a number of Catholic clergy. She maintained a home for priests in Makati which was run by Monsignor Josefino S. Ramirez, who previously served as rector of the Quiapo Church, where her mother funded the church's feeding programs for the poor. Ramirez reportedly brought the image of the Black Nazarene on a number of occasions to Napoles' house, where they would hear Mass, and has confirmed that he received from her a monthly stipend of ₱150,000, and lived in one of Napoles' houses. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila has distanced itself from Napoles, saying that the projects she funded were part of Ramirez's personal apostolate and are not official projects of the archdiocese. == Health ==

Janet Lim-Napoles was admitted to the Ospital ng Makati on March 31, 2014, for treatment of a uterine cyst. On April 1, 2014, she underwent a series of tests, including electrocardiography (ECG), two-dimensional echocardiogram (2D-echo) and an X-ray. The following day, she underwent a blood test, and a week later underwent an endometrial biopsy examination despite her high blood sugar levels. ==Notes==