Metro Manila, Philippines – Senator Jinggoy Estrada is now scot-free after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division reversed his earlier conviction for direct and indirect bribery in connection with the pork barrel scam.
In January, the anti-graft court acquitted Estrada of plunder but sentenced him to eight to nine years for direct bribery and two to three years for each of the two counts of indirect bribery, totaling up to 15 years. Estrada filed an appeal in March.
The anti-graft court on Thursday granted Estrada’s motion for reconsideration, saying its earlier guilty verdict is “reversed and set aside.”
In a 26-page decision penned by Associate Justice Theresa Mendoza-Arcega, the court ruled that Estrada’s arguments “merit consideration.”
These include his insistence that the prosecution failed to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He said “there was no proof of money changing hands personally involving him” and argued that his former deputy chief-of-staff, Pauline Therese Mary Labayen’s receipt of kickbacks “is not tantamount to him receiving the same.”
The Sandiganbayan said whistleblower Benhur Luy only mentioned Labayen as the recipient of P5 million, and that “no other evidence serves to establish the flow of funds from Labayen to Estrada.”
The money was allegedly part of the multimillion-peso kickbacks that businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles gave to lawmakers in exchange for funneling their discretionary Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel allocations to her fraudulent non-government organizations.
Napoles’ conviction for one count of direct bribery was also reconsidered, but her guilty verdict for four counts of corruption of public officials remains due to her transactions with Labayen. The court determined that these transactions totaled P9.785 million, resulting in a jail term of up to 10 years and eight months, and a fine of P29.625 million for Napoles. Her civil liability of P262 million, with an annual interest rate of 6%, is also maintained.
The order was concurred in by Associate Justices Rafael Lagos and Lorifel Lacap Pahima. Associate Justice Maryann Corpus Mañalac dissented and concurred, while Associate Justice Bayani Jacinto dissented.
In a statement, Estrada said he was “deeply relieved” by the Sandiganbayan decision.
“This ruling reaffirms the innocence I have consistently maintained throughout the ordeal, which spanned a decade, as I sought to prove the baselessness of the accusations against me,” he said in a statement. ###
