Former Senate president and now Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile was acquitted of plunder by the Sandiganbayan on the alleged P172 million in “kickbacks” he reportedly received from his priority development assistance fund (PDAF) when he was a senator from 2004 to 2010.
In a decision promulgated on Friday, Oct. 4, the anti-graft court also acquitted Enrile’s former chief of staff lawyer Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes and businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Their co-accused Ronald John Lim and John Raymund de Asis remained at large. The case against them was archived and the Sandiganbayan ordered the issuance of arrest order against them.
In acquitting Enrile, the anti-graft court granted his motion to dismiss the charge via a demurrer to evidence.
A demurrer to evidence is a pleading filed by an accused in a criminal case to dismiss the charge based on alleged weakness of the prosecution’s evidence.
If the demurrer is granted, an accused is acquitted of the crime charge. If it is denied, trial will ensue.
In acquitting Napoles, the court also granted her demurrer to evidence which was filed even without the approval of the court.
With the acquittal of Enrile, Reyes, and Napoles, the Sandiganbayan lifted and set aside the hold departure orders (HDOs) issued against them.
However, in the case of Napoles, there is HDO that would be lifted since she has been in detention due to previous convictions in other cases, also involving PDAF.
The decision was written by Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez, Geraldine Faith E. Econg, and Juliet M. Manalo-San Gaspar. Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang issue a separate concurring and dissenting opinion.
Enrile was accused of allegedly receiving P172.8 million in "kickbacks" from his PDAF that were reportedly endorsed to Napoles' non-government organizations. The alleged “kickbacks” were reportedly received by Enrile allegedly through Reyes.
They reportedly violated Republic Act No. 7080, the Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder.
RA 7080 penalizes a public officer who amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through combination of series of over or criminal acts in the aggregate amount of P50 million. If found guilty, he or she is meted out a sentence of reclusion perpetua or a jail term ranging from 20 to 40 years.
The case against Enrile and his co-accused were filed in 2014. The cases had been elevated to the Supreme Court (SC) on several issues until the Sandiganbayan finally resolved the plunder charge after almost a decade.
A copy of the decision was not available as of posting time.