Former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile attends the trial of his plunder case at the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division. Enrile is facing charges for allegedly receiving kickbacks worth P178 million for allocating part of his pork barrel to bogus NGOs created by Janet Lim Napoles. Photo by Gabriel P. Lalu / INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – The prosecution in the plunder case against former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile will start presenting their evidence on February 11, the Sandiganbayan said.
This was set by Third Division chair and Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang during the hearing on Wednesday — which Enrile attended after being required to sign the pre-trial order for the case.
After this, hearings on one of the controversial pork barrel scam cases would be held every Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
Enrile is accused of receiving kickbacks worth P172.8 million from pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles for allocating part of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) set up and owned by Napoles.
The former Senate president and his other co-accused including Napoles were ordered on Tuesday to appear before the court to sign the pre-trial order, which is necessary before the trial begins.
The pre-trial order is a document that includes all the facts stipulated and the marked evidence that will be used for the proceedings.
Officers from the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) told the anti-graft court that Napoles would not be able to attend because of health reasons. The businesswoman is currently in jail after being convicted of plunder in a separate pork barrel case, this time with Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
READ: Bong Revilla acquitted of plunder
Napoles and all the other accused who were not able to sign were given until Friday to appear before the division’s clerk of court.
The plunder case against 95-year-old Enrile, who also used to be the defense minister of late former president Ferdinand Marcos, has been delayed due to issues he raised in the pre-trial stage of the case.
The Sandiganbayan has warned Enrile’s camp from further delaying the case. Of the three high-profile plunder raps against the former senators, only that of Enrile’s is still in the early stages.
READ: Sandiganbayan orders prosecution to produce evidence vs Enrile | Enrile defense tactics to delay pre-trial denied
While Revilla’s case has been decided upon, the case against former senator Jinggoy Estrada is nearing its end with the court saying that the prosecution was able to establish that Estrada and Napoles agreed to funnel his PDAF to the bogus NGOs.
READ: Sandiganbayan denies Jinggoy’s plea to dismiss plunder case