Neri Naig may miss court hearing due to hospital stay - BJMP

Neri Naig could miss her hearing at the Pasay City Regional Trial Court on Tuesday due to her medical evaulation, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said.

According to Oscar Oida's report on "24 Oras," Monday, the actress-entrepreneur remains at the hospital and is scheduled to be returned to the Pasay City Jail Female Dormitory on Wednesday.

BJMP spokesperson Jayrex Bustinera said they are coordinating with the court regarding Naig’s attendance to the hearing.

"Tomorrow makikipag-ugnayan kami if possible na teleconferencing na lang ito and physical presence na lang ng lawyer niya," Bustinera said. 

He also assured that Naig is in good condition and said there is nothing unusual with the medical evaluation.

"Karapatan maman po ng bawat bilanggo na kung gusto nila magpatingin sa gusto nilang doktor provided na papayagan ng korte we will comply," he said.

Meanwhile, Bustinera admitted that the Pasay City Jail Female Dormitory is over-congested with PDLs.

"Nasa 600% ang congestion dito ibig sabihin six times over the capacity and ideal nitong capacity ay nasa 30 PDL so nasa 150 plus na po ngayon ang kanyang jail population," he said.

Naig was arrested at the basement of a convention center inside a Pasay City mall on Saturday, November 23. She is facing charges of syndicated estafa and 14 counts of violation of the Securities Regulation Code.

Her camp has not yet given a formal interview, but according to her lawyer, they were deeply saddened that their client was not notified earlier about the allegations against her, which would have given them a chance to properly explain their side before it reached the court.

They added that similar complaints against Neri in other places have been dismissed and that they are confident that the actress will be proved to be not guilty.

—Jade Veronique Yap/MGP, GMA Integrated News