< List

ENRILE, 2 OTHERS ACQUITTED OF PLUNDER IN PORK BARREL SCAM

ImHenyo Writer
M
Jessica
2024.10.05
Likes 3
Views197
Comments 0

After a decade, the trial for plunder of presidential legal adviser Juan Ponce Enrile, Reyes and Lim Napoles by the Sandiganbayan ended in their acquittal (Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN News)

 

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile and his co-accused Gigi Reyes and Janet Napoles was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan in a plunder case connected with the pork barrel scam after more than 10 years of trial.

 

The prosecution submitted insufficient evidence and failed to show that the kickbacks he allegedly received from his pork barrel when he was a senator reached the minimum P50-million threshold for the crime, so it threw out the P172.8-million plunder case against Enrile.

 

"I knew all along that I will be acquitted because we have not done anything in this case. And I hope the people who filed those cases against us will examine their conscience," Enrile stated.

 

The court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish that Enrile received some of the money that was amassed from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for 2006, 2007 and 2010, noting that his letter request to the Senate president or the Senate Committee on Finance was a "regular process" that is being issued by the senators for use as financial assistance to a certain local government unit.

 

The court also ruled that the threshold amount for plunder was not proven, since the sum of the daily disbursement reports (DDRs), or the list of people who received the money, amounted only to P46.3 million.

 

However, businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles will remain in jail due to at least two plunder convictions also in connection with the pork barrel scam. She cannot be solely convicted of plunder as the Plunder Law requires that the main plunderer or plunderers are public officials. The court said a private individual can only be held guilty of plunder if proven that he or she conspired with the public official in the commission of the crime.

 

“Since the prosecution was unable to prove the receipt of money as alleged in the case Information by herein public officers Enrile and Reyes the alleged main plunderers, then Napoles could not be found liable for the offense charged since the basis of her indictment was conspiracy with the said public officers,” the court said.

 

While Jessica Lucila Reyes should be sentenced to a minimum of eight years to a maximum of nine years and four months of imprisonment for each count of the offense while Napoles should be sentenced to eight years to 10 years of imprisonment for each count of her offense.

 

Enrile's daughter, Chief Executive Officer Katrina Ponce Enrile of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, said they are thankful that the ordeal is over and that justice was served. “We are all relieved that this ordeal that started in 2013 with a politically motivated charge is finally over and that justice was served. We thank the Lord for looking over us.''

 

 

Source: GMA Integrated News 

 

 

 

Be part of ImHenyo community!

Get featured by sharing your stories, news, and comments

Email us at [email protected]

Comments

NEWS

DA TARGETS P49/KG MSRP FOR IMPORTED RICE BY MARCH N
M
Jessica
Views 30
Likes 1
2025.01.25
DA TARGETS P49/KG MSRP FOR IMPORTED RICE BY MARCH
NEDA: PHILIPPINE ECONOMY IN GOOD SHAPE AMID CHALLENGES N
M
Jessica
Views 29
Likes 1
2025.01.25
NEDA: PHILIPPINE ECONOMY IN GOOD SHAPE AMID CHALLENGES
DOLE REMINDS EMPLOYERS OF CORRECT PAY RULES ON CHINESE NEW YEAR
M
Jessica
Views 40
Likes 1
2025.01.25
DOLE REMINDS EMPLOYERS OF CORRECT PAY RULES ON CHINESE NEW YEAR
MMDA ROLLS OUT ZERO WASTE EXPO, PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT
M
Jessica
Views 34
Likes 1
2025.01.25
MMDA ROLLS OUT ZERO WASTE EXPO, PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT
OIL PRICE ROLLBACK EXPECTED BEFORE END-JANUARY
M
Jessica
Views 44
Likes 1
2025.01.24
OIL PRICE ROLLBACK EXPECTED BEFORE END-JANUARY
SOUTHERN LEYTE EARTHQUAKE: 166 AFTERSHOCKS, INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGED, AND 5 INJURED
M
Jessica
Views 60
Likes 1
2025.01.24
SOUTHERN LEYTE EARTHQUAKE: 166 AFTERSHOCKS, INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGED, AND 5 INJURED
COMELEC EYES REPRINTING 1.5 MILLION BALLOTS DAILY STARTING JANUARY 27
M
Jessica
Views 42
Likes 1
2025.01.24
COMELEC EYES REPRINTING 1.5 MILLION BALLOTS DAILY STARTING JANUARY 27
MARCOS ‘SATISFIED’ WITH COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2024
M
Jessica
Views 28
Likes 1
2025.01.24
MARCOS ‘SATISFIED’ WITH COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2024
2 GRADUATING SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DROWNED IN UNGGA FALLS
M
Jessica
Views 55
Likes 1
2025.01.24
2 GRADUATING SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DROWNED IN UNGGA FALLS
LA NIÑA CONDITIONS LIKELY TO LAST UNTIL APRIL – PAGASA
M
Jessica
Views 117
Likes 1
2025.01.23
LA NIÑA CONDITIONS LIKELY TO LAST UNTIL APRIL – PAGASA
PHILIPPINE TOURISM EYES INDIA NATIONALS TO BOOST TOURISM
M
Jessica
Views 49
Likes 1
2025.01.23
PHILIPPINE TOURISM EYES INDIA NATIONALS TO BOOST TOURISM
MAGNITUDE 5.8 QUAKE STRIKES SOUTHERN LEYTE – PHIVOLCS
M
Jessica
Views 48
Likes 3
2025.01.23
  MAGNITUDE 5.8 QUAKE STRIKES SOUTHERN LEYTE – PHIVOLCS
HOUSE PROPOSES 'DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD' FOR CORRUPT OFFICIALS
M
Jessica
Views 64
Likes 3
2025.01.23
HOUSE PROPOSES 'DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD' FOR CORRUPT OFFICIALS
PHIVOLCS RECORDED RECENT TAAL AND KANLAON VOLCANIC ACTIVITIES
M
Jessica
Views 58
Likes 3
2025.01.22
PHIVOLCS RECORDED RECENT TAAL AND KANLAON VOLCANIC ACTIVITIES
SECOND TRANCHE OF SALARY HIKE FOR GOV’T WORKERS SET IN JANUARY
M
Jessica
Views 64
Likes 3
2025.01.22
SECOND TRANCHE OF SALARY HIKE FOR GOV’T WORKERS SET IN JANUARY
1 2 3 4 5