Cardinal Tagle camp denies receiving surrender feelers from Napoles

The office of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle denied reports Wednesday that he received feelers from suspect businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles expressing her willingness to surrender to the authorities with his help. In a statement, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) quoted Tagle's communications officer, Peachy Yamsuan, as saying that the bishop did not receive a letter, nor did he talk with Napoles or to any of her emissaries. In a report aired on "24 Oras," Napoles' lawyer, Atty. Lorna Kapunan did confirm that her client had sent surrender feelers to Tagle with the caveat the he provide her sanctuary. Kapunan said the businesswoman wanted to seek the Catholic Church's protection when she resurfaced because it was an institution she fully trusted. "We wanted sana si Cardinal Tagle to be the one sana to accept Mrs. Napoles and be the one to cause her surrender to the appropriate authorities, pero hindi po nag-aksyon si Cardinal Tagle" she said. On Wednesday, President Benigno Aquino III announced that the government was offering a P10-million reward for any information that will lead to Napoles' arrest. Kapunan said she has not seen her client after she disappeared on August 14 following a Makati court's issuance of an arrest warrant for her and her brother Reynald "Jojo" Lim for the illegal detention case involving pork-barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy. At a corporate gathering Wednesday, Cardinal Tagle refused to comment on Napoles' supposed request for protection. However, the cardinal did make a thinly-veiled comment addressed to people involved in the pork barrel scam: "Hindi na taumbayan ang kalaban, ang Diyos na ang makakalaban. Yun ang nakakatakot doon." Meanwhile, Napoles resurfaced and surrendered to Aquino Wednesday night. — DVM, GMA News