LOS ANGELES (UPDATED) - A controversial condominium unit in a downtown Los Angeles high rise, owned by one of the children of a businesswoman embroiled in the P10-billion pork barrel scam in the Philippines, is on the market.
Several realty websites show that the home of Jeane Napoles, the daughter of Janet Lim Napoles, at the Ritz Carlton is up for sale.
The listing was posted on several American realty websites on September 23.
The 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit which covers over 1500 square feet is being listed at the price of $1.475 million.
Price per square feet is at $934.14.
According to public realty records, the unit was purchased under Jeane C Napoles' name in July of 2011 for $1.28 million.
Sources from the Ritz Carlton told Balitang America that a Napoles employee was seen moving bags of Jeane's belongings days before the August 26 anti-pork barrel protest.
Dozens of Filipino-Americans protested outside of the Ritz Carlton on August 26 during a global day of action against the pork barrel system.
A record search of the three other Southern California Napoles-linked properties shows that none of them are up for sale.
These include the Anaheim Express Inn valued at about $7 million, a $1.4 million home in the affluent Canyon View gated community in Irvine and a commercial property in the Los Angeles County City of Covina.
Napoles' kids in dire straits
Lawyer Lorna Kapunan earlier said the children of Napoles are having difficulties after the Court of Appeals froze their family's bank accounts.
"The children of Mrs. Napoles cannot even access their ATM account to get gasoline for cars, cannot go to school. Their accounts were frozen for 6 months. They will not eat?" she told ABS-CBN News.
At the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the pork barrel scam on Thursday, whistleblower Marina Suna narrated the long list of properties owned by the Napoles family.
These include Jeane's Ritz Carlton condo unit.
"May mababawi pa ba ang tao?" Senator Alan Peter Cayetano asked.
"There are ongoing efforts alongside AMLAC and IAGC, Among areas of inter-agency cooperation is asset recovery so not just prosecution," Justice Secretary Leila de Lima replied.
She said the government is taking steps to prevent the sale of Napoles assets to other people.
However, while no case related to the pork barrel scam has been filed yet against Napoles, it is unlikely that the government can block the sale of her daughter's condo in the US
