Sandiganbayan acquits Enrile, others in P172-M pork barrel scam

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Third Division has acquitted chief presidential legal counsel and former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, his ex-chief of staff Jessica “Gigi” Reyes, and businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles in a plunder case concerning the alleged embezzlement of over P172 million from pork barrel funds.

In an 84-page decision promulgated on Friday, October 4, the Sandiganbayan granted Enrile's motion for demurrer to evidence which effectively acquits the 100-year-old former senator of the plunder charge. 

The anti-graft court also acquitted Napoles and Enrile's aide, Gigi Reyes, in the plunder charge as the prosecution has failed to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

This means the prosecution was unable to present sufficient evidence to convince the court of the defendants' guilt in the plunder case.

The court ruled in favor of Enrile and the others due to the failure of the key witness, Ruby Tuason, to provide evidence showing how Napoles received discretionary funds from Enrile or how she gave commissions to the former senator and Reyes.

"Prescinding from the foregoing discussions, the prosecution's evidence was insufficient to prove with moral certainty that Napoles gave kickbacks or commission to Enrile or Reyes, and that the said accused amassed or accumulated ill-gotten wealth in the amount of at least P50 million," the anti-graft court's decision read.

Fell short of plunder threshold. At the same time, the prosecution was only able to link about P46.39 million worth of transactions to Enrile, falling short of the P50 million threshold required for plunder according to Republic Act 7080.  

What is the pork barrel scam? The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) provided members of Congress with public funds to use in financing local infrastructure projects.

In 2013, the Supreme Court declared PDAF unconstitutional in the case of Belgica vs Ochoa, citing violations of the principle of separation of powers and non-delegability of legislative authority.

The high court ruled the PDAF allowed individual lawmakers to exercise post-enactment intervention by selecting specific projects and beneficiaries, effectively giving them powers of appropriation—functions that constitutionally belong to Congress as a legislative body, not to individual legislators.

According to the ruling, the Constitution grants lawmaking and budget appropriation powers to Congress as a whole, not to its members acting individually.

It has been ten years since the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder complaints against Enrile, Reyes, Napoles and two others for allegedly amassing P172 million from the former senator’s PDAF between 2004 and 2010.

Revilla, Estrada also acquitted

This is not the first time the Sandiganbayan has dismissed cases related to the pork barrel scam. 

In December 2018, the anti-graft court acquitted Sen. Bong Revilla in a separate plunder case after four years in detention for similar reasons. However, he was ordered to return P124.5 million to the government due to civil liability.

While Napoles was cleared of plunder charges in Enrile’s case, the Sandiganbayan found her guilty in Revilla’s.

In January 2024, former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was also acquitted of plunder charges, but the anti-graft court determined he was guilty of bribery, which also suspended him from holding public office.

Like Revilla’s case, Napoles was found guilty of corruption for her involvement in both direct and indirect bribery of government officials, including Estrada.

Enrile and Napoles expressed their satisfaction with the court decision on Friday.

The former senator told reporters that the acquittal is “vindication” for all of them. — with reports from Ian Laqui