Anti-graft court clears Enrile, Napoles, others from pork barrel cases

Metro Manila, Philippines - Chief presidential legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile and businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles have been cleared from cases in relation to the pork barrel scam.

In a decision released on Friday, Oct. 24, the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division acquitted the two, along with Enrile’s former chief of staff Gigi Reyes and others, from 15 counts of graft over the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

The court cited the “failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”

“The respective bonds posted by the said accused for their provisional liberty are ordered RELEASED, subject to the usual accounting and auditing procedures,” the Sandiganbayan stated.

“The hold departure orders issued against them in connection with these cases are LIFTED and SET ASIDE,” it added.

In 2013, the PDAF or pork barrel scam was exposed. It is a scheme in which funds granted for lawmakers for pet projects were diverted to fake non-government organizations. The fund has since been declared unconstitutional.

The scam was allegedly orchestrated by Napoles.

Last year, the anti-graft court cleared Enrile, Napoles, and Reyes from plunder cases.

In 2014, Enrile was permitted to post bail pending trial for humanitarian reasons.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada and former Senator Bong Revilla were detained for three years and four years, respectively, for separate pork barrel cases.

Estrada posted bail in 2017 until he was acquitted last year. Revilla walked free in 2018.