Enrile, Reyes, Napoles cleared of plunder in pork scam

MANILA, Philippines — After a decade, the trial for plunder of former senator and now presidential legal adviser Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief of staff Jessica Lucila Reyes and businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles by the Sandiganbayan ended in their acquital.

In a vote of 4-1, the Sandiganbayan Special Third Division yesterday acquitted Enrile, Reyes and Napoles “for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”

The plunder cases, filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on June 5, 2014, stemmed from Enrile’s alleged receipt, through Reyes, of a total of P172.83 million in commissions or kickbacks from Napoles in exchange for the allocation of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel to the businesswoman’s bogus non-government organizations, during his term as a senator from 2004 to 2010.

Enrile and Napoles were acquitted without presenting any defense as the court granted their respective demurrers to evidence, in which they prayed for the dismissal of the case solely on the ground of the weakness of evidence of the prosecution.

Reyes, meanwhile, was acquitted after months of presenting her counter-evidence.

Following their acquittal, the court ordered the lifting of the hold departure order (HDO) on Enrile, Reyes and Napoles as well as the release of the bail bond that they previously posted for their provisional liberty.

The court, meanwhile, ordered the issuance of new arrest warrants against Napoles’ nephew Ronald Lim and former employee John Raymund de Asis, as their cases were temporarily archived.

“I thank the justices for rendering justice for all of us. I knew all along that I’ll be acquitted because I have not done anything. We have not done anything in this case and hope that the people who filed these cases against us will examine their conscience,” Enrile, a centenarian, said.

Enrile’s chief legal counsel, former solicitor-general Estelito Mendoza, meanwhile, described the decision as a “vindication” for the former senator and his co-accused.

“We are vindicated. It was a long road but today, JPE is acquitted, including Gigi Reyes,” Mendoza said.

Reyes immediately left the Sandiganbayan building after