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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sandiganbayan rejects Napoles' plea to suppress evidence in plunder case

Sandiganbayan rejects Napoles' plea to suppress evidence in plunder case

Published Mar 1, 2021 02:40 pm

The Sandiganbayan has denied the motion of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles to suppress all the evidence presented against her by whistleblower Benhur Luy in her plunder case together with former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile.

(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

Denied by the court was Napoles’ motion to suppress evidence “for being inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding in any court or tribunal under Section 18 of Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Law."

Napoles has one plunder and 15 graft charges before the anti-graft court in connection with Enrile's Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) which the former senator allegedly endorsed to the bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) owned the businesswoman.

The case against Enrile is still pending.  The former senator is out on bail “on humanitarian reasons.”

In her motion, Napoles claimed that the evidence -- ranging from their office's Daily Disbursement Records, Summary of Rebates, draft endorsement letters, project listings, memorandum of agreements, and working financial plans -- should be deemed as inadmissible as they are "fruits of the poisonous tree."

She alleged that Luy is not a reliable witness as he is a "self-confessed criminal" and illegally obtained documents from JLN Corporation's iMac computer.

She also said that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should have applied for a search warrant to determine whether or not the documents obtained by Luy indeed came from their company's computer and were not just fabricated.

In denying Napoles' motion, the resolution written by Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno, stated that the evidentiary and probative value of Luy's testimonial and documentary evidence will be better threshed out during trial.

"Verily, it could not be said at this point that Luy had illegally accessed the files of JLN Corporation. In the same manner, to label Luy as a 'hacker' at this stage of the proceedings would still be premature," the resolution said.

The court also said there was no need to apply for a search warrant since Luy, a private individual, handed over the files and contents of his external hard drive to the NBI.

"Considering that the NBI was able to access the files through the external hard drive owned by Luy, the reliance of Napoles on the exclusionary rule under Section 18 to suppress the subject evidence is misplaced," the court explained.

Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito Fernandez concurred in the eight-page resolution.

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