Enrile, 2 others, acquitted in landmark plunder case

National

FORMER Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and his co-defendants have been acquitted of plunder in a case that has gripped the Philippines for over a decade.

In a landmark ruling, the Sandiganbayan Special Third Division has absolved Enrile, his former aide Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, and Janet Lim Napoles, infamously known as the “pork barrel scam queen.”

This verdict, announced on October 4, marks a decisive moment in the protracted pork barrel fund scandal that erupted in 2013.

The anti-graft court’s decision comes after more than 10 years of legal proceedings, culminating in cases that were initially initiated during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III.

Enrile, who currently serves as chief legal counsel to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., faced serious allegations of receiving approximately P172 million in kickbacks from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from 2004 to 2010. The prosecution claimed that these funds were channeled through fake non-governmental organizations (NGOs) managed by Napoles, with the money intended for non-existent projects that never benefited their supposed beneficiaries.

The court’s acquittal of Enrile stemmed from a successful motion for a demurrer to evidence, which argued that the prosecution's case lacked sufficient proof after they had rested their argument. Notably, the verdict was rendered with a vote of 4-1, requiring the involvement of special members in the division due to the split among regular members.

After the decision was announced, Enrile expressed relief, saying, “We haven’t done anything. I hope that the people who filed those cases against us will examine their conscience.”

His co-defendants, Reyes and Napoles, were also cleared of plunder charges.

Reyes, who served as Enrile’s chief-of-staff, had previously leveraged legal arguments to secure her release from detention, citing violations of her right to a speedy trial.

Meanwhile, Napoles, who has been convicted in other plunder cases involving different lawmakers, remains incarcerated as she faces additional legal challenges.

This acquittal adds to the growing list of exonerations for key figures involved in the pork barrel scandal, with Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada having previously won their respective cases. While Enrile experienced the least incarceration, he was granted bail in 2015 under controversial circumstances. However, his legal battles are far from over, as additional graft charges against him remain pending in court.(MyTVCebu)