Napoles daughter backs out of party list

MANILA, Philippines – The eldest daughter of Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind behind the multi-million pork barrel scam, has dropped her dreams of joining Congress. 

Jo Christine Napoles on Thursday, August 8, withdrew her “nomination” as the second representative of the OFW Family Party List in the House of Representatives. 

In a statement, OFW Family Rep Roy Señeres Sr said Napoles made the decision to “spare the OFW Family Party List of the controversy associated with her mother.” 

But even before she could announce her withdrawal, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had long said Napoles could not sit as party-list representative since she was not among the original set of nominees submitted to the Comelec.  

The OFW Party List won two seats in the recent mid-term elections. Its members are locked in a bitter dispute over who should take the group’s second seat after its own member, Eduardo Morales, filed a petition asking the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal to disqualify its original second nominee, Johnny Revilla, over allegations that he is an American citizen. 

The group wants Napoles to replace Revilla should he be declared as ineligible. However, Comelec’s Brillantes has said Napoles could not be a possible substitute since her name was not submitted to Comelec beforehand. 

Señeres earlier defended the young Napoles after news of the pork barrel scam broke, saying that the daughter had nothing to do with the mother’s alleged corrupt activities. 

Napoles will remain as the president of the party list’s chapter in Metro Manila. 

The Napoles family has been in the media spotlight after photos of the extravagant lifestyle of Janet Napoles’ youngest daughter circulated online. – Rappler.com