The Sandiganbayan has decided to resolve the motion of detained businesswoman Janet L. Napoles in the graft and malversation charges filed against her after all the accused have finished the presentation of their evidence in the alleged misuse of the P7 million priority development assistance fund (PDAF) of former Oriental Mindoro congressman Rodolfo G. Valencia.
Napoles filed a demurrer to evidence despite lack of approval by the anti-graft court. This means that the charges against her will be resolved on the basis of the evidence presented by the prosecution against her.
A demurrer to evidence is a pleading filed by an accused to dismiss the charge based on the alleged weakness of the prosecutions evidence to sustain a conviction. The filing of the pleading has to be approved by the court.
Napoles, Valencia and several other accused were charged with three counts of graft and three counts of malversation of public funds in the alleged misuse of the former legislator’s PDAF.
The charges alleged that Valencia received a personal cut of P2.4 million after he, in a reported conspiracy with officials from the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC), allowed his PDAF to go to the bogus non-government organization (NGO) Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (MAMFI) owned by Napoles in 2008 and 2009
Napoles’ demurrer to evidence was heard by the Sandiganbayan last Nov. 21 and the prosecution asked the court to submit her demurrer for resolution after all the accused have presented their evidence.
In a resolution issued last Dec. 12, the Sandiganbayan said: "When a case involves several accused, and one or some of the accused did not file such demurrer, the demurrer may be resolved or decided simultaneously or jointly with the main decision after the presentation of evidence for the other accused, for the orderly disposition of the case.”
"Accused Napoles' co-accused currently are in the process of presenting their respective evidence. In the interest of the orderly disposition of these cases, and as agreed by the parties, accused Napoles' demurrer to evidence, as well as the prosecution's opposition thereto, shall be submitted for resolution jointly with the main decision after the presentation of evidence for the other accused," the court ruled.
The two-page resolution was signed by Seventh Division Chairperson Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta with the concurrence of Associate Justices Zaldy V. Trespeses and Georgina D. Hidalgo.
Napoles had been convicted in several criminal cases like plunder, graft and malversation by the Sandiganbayan. She has been detained at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City since 2015.