FORMER Senate president and now Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan in a plunder case on Friday after more than 10 years of trial.
His two co-accused in the P172.83 million case, his former chief of staff Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes and convicted pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, were also found not guilty of the charge.
In the 84-page decision written by Associate Justice Ronald Moreno, the court’s Special Third Division granted the 100-year-old Enrile’s demurrer, or objection, to evidence as well as Napoles’ own demurrer without leave of court.
Concurring with Moreno were Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justices Bernelito Fernandez, Geraldine Faith Econg, and Juliet Manalo-San Gaspar.
NOT GUILTY Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile arrives at the Sandiganbayan on Oct. 4, 2024, for the promulgation of his plunder case, along with co-defendants Gigi Reyes, his former chief of staff, and businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles. A division of the anti-graft court found Enrile, a former Senate president, Reyes and Napoles not guilty. In an interview after the verdict was handed down, Enrile said he was ‘vindicated.’ PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Enrile’s demurrer means that the defense believes that the prosecution’s evidence is insufficient to warrant a conviction.
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.
It said none of the prosecution witnesses testified that they were handed or transferred money to Enrile himself coming from Napoles’ kickbacks.
The prosecution also did not establish whether Reyes was able to acquire ill-gotten wealth from Ruby Tuason, the socialite who allegedly acted as the middleman in the transactions between Reyes and Enrile.
“In her testimony, Tuason merely stated that she gave the money which she allegedly received from Napoles or (Benhur) Luy to accused Reyes; it lacked details or particulars of the alleged deliveries, specifically the number of deliveries made vis-å-vis the amounts given to Reyes per delivery. Nowhere in Tuason’s testimony did she even mention, or even intimated, the amounts she handed or gave to Reyes,” the ruling said.
Luy, Napoles’ nephew who was also implicated in the scandal, has testified that he did not have enough evidence to prove that Napoles received a portion of Enrile’s PDAF.
The court said it believed that the evidence presented failed to establish Napoles’ act of giving kickbacks or commissions to Enrile or Reyes, as noted by Tuason in her testimony.
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.
Speaking to reporters after the reading of the verdict, Enrile thanked the magistrates for “rendering justice” to all of the accused, adding that he felt vindicated by the ruling.
“I hope that the people who filed those cases against us will examine their conscience,” he said.
Napoles, who remains in jail for her previous plunder convictions, also thanked those who prayed for her.
Reyes did not offer any comment to reporters as she was escorted out of the Sandiganbayan.
Enrile’s lawyer, former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza, said that “it was a long road” for vindication.
The Ombudsman filed the plunder charges in 2014.
Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc, however, took issue with the decision.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said the acquittal is a “glaring example of how justice in our country is skewed in favor of those who possess wealth and influence.”
“It is disheartening to witness how high-profile individuals escape accountability while the common Filipino faces harsh penalties for lesser offenses,” Castro said.
Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said Enrile’s acquittal “highlights a disturbing trend in our justice system where political power and influence overshadow accountability and justice.”
“This decision not only undermines efforts to combat corruption but also emboldens those who misuse public funds,” Brosas said.
