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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sandiganbayan acquits Enrile, others in P172-M graft charges

Sandiganbayan acquits Enrile, others in P172-M graft charges

Published Oct 24, 2025 01:46 pm
The Sandiganbayan acquitted on Friday, Oct. 24, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile and 32 others of their 15 graft charges involving the alleged misuse of his P172 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) when he was a senator.
Enrile’s former chief of staff Jessica “Gigi” Reyes, former deputy chief of staff Jose Antonio Evangelista II, and businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles were also acquitted.
The 193-page per curiam (by the court with the writer unidentified) decision was signed by Associate Justices Ronald B. Moreno, Arthur O. Malabaguio and Juliet M. Manalo-San Gaspar.
However, the anti-graft court imposed civil liabilities on Napoles and several others despite their acquittal.
The civil liabilities imposed per graft charge are P20,000,000, P24,250,000, P19,400,000, P29,100,000, P22,500,000, P24,250,000, P24,250,000, P14,550,000, P9,700,000, P8,000,000, P20,000,000, P25,000,000, P25,000,000, P32,000,000, and P40,000,000.
With Enrile’s acquittal, there are no more pending cases against him at the Sandiganbayan. He was cleared of his plunder charge in connection with the same PDAF on Oct. 4, 2024.
The charges were filed against Enrile and the other accused when he allegedly endorsed his PDAF to bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) owned by Napoles in exchange for “kickbacks” from 2004 to 2010.
In 2015, Enrile was allowed to post bail for his plunder charge. In January 2023, the Supreme Court (SC) granted the plea of Reyes for a habeas corpus petition and ordered her release from jail. Only Napoles, who was already convicted of several criminal charges involving the PDAF scam, remains in jail.
Aside from Enrile, Reyes, Evangelista, and Napoles, also cleared of the of the 15 graft charges were Napoles’ children Jo Christine Napoles and James Christopher Napoles, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) undersecretary Mario Relampagos and officials Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule, Marilou Bare.
Aso cleared were former Technology Resource Center (TRC) director general Dennis Cunanan and officials Francisco Figura, Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, Marivic Jover, Evelyn De Leon, Nitz Cabilao, Mylene Encarnacion, Rhodora Mendoza, Encarnita Cristina Munsod, Renato Ornopia, Jocelyn Piorato, Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, Dorilyn Fabian, Rodrigo Galay, Laarnie Uy, Victor Roman Cacal, Gondelina Amata, Ofelia Ordoñez, Filipina Rodriguez, Chita Jalandoni, Sofia Cruz, Gregoria Buenaventura, and Myla Ogenio-Suñas.
"Overall, the court finds that the evidence for the prosecution does not pass the test of moral certainty and is insufficient to rebut the constitutional presumption of innocence," the anti-graft court said in its decision.
It pointed out: “Regardless of the undue injury suffered by the government, the prosecution must still establish the presence of all the elements of the offense. In these cases, it failed to do so.”
The court explained that the endorsement of the non-government organization was merely recommendatory, and the mandate to accredit the non-government organization and award the project still rests within the implementing agencies.
Thus, it said, "such supposed endorsement by Enrile does not constitute manifest partiality or evident bad faith" in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
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