The Sandiganbayan has allowed Sen. Jinggoy Estrada to file a motion to dismiss the 11 graft charges filed against him in connection with his P183 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from 2004 to 2012 on alleged insufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence to sustain a conviction.

In a resolution, the anti-graft court’s fifth division granted Estrada’s motion to file a demurrer to evidence on his graft charges.

Also allowed to file their demurrer were Estrada’s co-accused – former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) deputy director general Dennis L. Cunanan, former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) undersecretary Mario L. Relampagos, DBM officials Rosario S. Nuñez, Lalaine N. Paule, and Marilou D. Bare.

Earlier, the Sandiganbayan had acquitted Estrada of plunder in the P183 million PDAF but had been convicted of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery.

He was sentenced to eight to nine years imprisonment for direct bribery and meted out a special temporary disqualification from holding public office and perpetual disqualification to vote. He was also ordered to pay a fine of P3 million.

He was sentenced to two to three years imprisonment for each of his indirect bribery convictions with the penalties of suspension and public censure and accessory penalties of suspension from public office, from the right to follow a profession or calling, and the right to vote.

Estrada had said he will exhaust all legal remedies to reverse his convictions.

His co-accused businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles had also been acquitted of plunder but found guilty of seven counts of corruption of public officials.

For five counts of corruption of public officials, Napoles was sentenced to a prison term ranging from eight to 10 years for each count and ordered to pay a fine of P28,625,000. For the remaining two counts, she was sentenced to two to four years imprisonment for each count and suffer the penalty of public censure. She was also ordered to indemnify the government P262,034,000.

The cases against Estrada’s deputy chief of staff Pauline Therese Mary C. Labayen and staff John Raymund De Asis have been ordered archived pending their arrest.

A demurrer to evidence is filed by an accused in a criminal case challenging the alleged insufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence to sustain a conviction.  If allowed for filing and if granted by the court, the accused is acquitted.

In his motion to file a demurrer to evidence, Estrada pointed out that he never met with Napoles or the other accused to discuss and agree on commissions or kickbacks. He denied ever meeting with Napoles' staff, whistleblower Benhur Luy, and he insisted that the release of his PDAF from 2004 to 2012 followed a "recognized, stringent, institutional legal process."

Cunanan, on the other hand, said there was no proof that he participated in any conspiracy. Relampagos, Bare, Nuñez, and Paule also echoed the same argument, adding that the documentary and testimonial evidence on record does not support a guilty verdict.

"After a careful examination of the totality of the evidence presented by the prosecution, both testimonial and documentary, the Court resolves to grant the present motion of herein accused, to sufficiently provide them an opportunity to challenge the sufficiency of the prosecution's evidence establishing the material elements of the offense charged to support a judgment of guilt," the Sandiganbayan ruled.

The 10-page resolution dated Feb. 12, 2024 was written by Associate Justice Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega with the concurrence of Fifth Division Chairperson Associate Justice Rafael R. Lagos and Associate Justice Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac.