Sandiganbayan to resume Enrile’s plunder case trial on Oct. 16

MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan is set to resume the hearing of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s plunder case on October 16, after the court noted manifestations from both the defense and prosecution panels.

According to the four-page resolution from the Third Division on October 7, the resumption of the case proceedings is to avoid any further delays in the case, which they admitted has taken up some time.

“The records also bear out that this case has been dragging on for quite some time already. In order to avoid further delays, we order that the trial be set on October 16, 2019, without prejudice to any motion [not made with intent to delay the proceedings] that the parties may submit for the Court’s consideration,” the anti-graft court noted.

The counter manifestation made by Enrile’s camp was in reference to the prosecution’s alleged non-compliance with a previous resolution dated April 24, 2019, which orders the state lawyers to produce copies of its evidence, in accordance with Section 10, Rule 116, of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.

These pieces of evidence would then be inspected by Enrile’s camp, which will mount a defense to counter the allegations.

READ: Sandiganbayan orders prosecution to produce evidence vs Enrile

The anti-graft court also maintained that their previous resolutions have been clear — that the defense be allowed to inspect and copy the statements and documents presented as evidence, on the condition that it would stay in the hands of the prosecution.

Sandiganbayan also stressed that the manifestations had no specific prayer or request that the Court could resolve, hence the continuation of the trial.

“Corollarily, aside from the prosecution’s prayer for the Court to ‘duly note’ its Manifestation, the parties’ submissions (i.e., manifestation and counter-manifestation) contained no other prayer for the Court to act upon,” the court said.

“At any rate, the Court duly takes into account the matters brought to our attention via these submissions,” they added.

Enrile is accused of pocketing P172.8 million worth of kickbacks for allegedly allocating P172.8 million pesos of his Priority Development Assistance Fund to non-existent organizations owned by convicted pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

Napoles is currently jailed at the Correctional Institute for Women after she was found guilty in a separate plunder case, this time involving Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. who was acquitted.

Enrile and former Senator Jinggoy Estrada — another accused — are currently under temporary freedom after the court allowed them to post bail. /jpv