Enrile petitions impending arrest warrant

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday opposed the issuance of a warrant of arrest by the Sandiganbayan in connection with the plunder case filed against him for his alleged involvement in the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam.

Filing the supplemental opposition to the issuance of warrant of arrest, Enrile's lawyers led by Atty. Estelito Mendoza said that the plunder and graft cases filed against their senator should be dismissed as he was not informed of the "nature and cause of accusation against him."

Enrile's legal counsels also argued that charges against their client did not indicate that he received kickbacks or payoffs in a "combination or series of overt criminal acts."

They said in the motion that the phrase "combination or series of overt criminal acts in the Information...is not a statement of fact."

Aside from Enrile, the Ombudsman also filed plunder and graft cases against senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada for their supposed involvement in the pork barrel scam.

The alleged brains behind the P10 billion pork barrel scam, businesswoman Janet Napoles, was also charged before the anti-graft court.

The anti-graft court has given a recommendatory period of 10 days to determine if there is probable cause to issue an arrest warrant against the accused.