Plea of Enrile’s ex-staff to question pork barrel evidence junked anew
DOWNFALL Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes arriving at Sandiganbayan for her trial in this picture taken in 2018. (INQUIRER file photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Sandiganbayan has denied the motion of Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes to reverse an initial ruling where her attempt to challenge the prosecution’s evidence was also dismissed.
Reyes is the former chief of staff of former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile.
During the hearing of Reyes’ motion on October 17, the anti-graft court’s Third Division adopted a resolution denying Reyes’ motion for reconsideration for lack of merit.
This request pertained to her previously junked motion for leave of court to file a demurrer to evidence.
The demurrer was filed concerning Enrile’s alleged pork barrel scam involvement.
In this case, Reyes is accused of transferring the former Senate leader’s priority development assistance fund (PDAF) to fake non-government organizations created by Janet Lim Napoles.
A demurrer to evidence is filed to question the prosecution’s evidence.
Should the court approve a demurrer from an accused, the charges will be dropped.
But if not, the defendant loses his or her right to contest the evidence.
According to the resolution from the Third Division, Reyes did not present any new evidence that would warrant a reversal of the original decision.
The justices also took notice of Reyes’ claim that it was impartial, as Enrile was allowed to file a demurrer while her own motion was rejected.
The Third Division, headed by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, stressed that Reyes, in her motion, maintained that there was no conspiracy.
READ: Sandiganbayan lets Enrile challenge prosecution evidence in plunder case
But in questioning why Enrile was allowed leave of court, Cabotaje-Tang said Reyes had cited the conspiracy concept — that the ruling should be the same for alleged co-conspirators.
“In her motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence, accused Reyes repeatedly denied the existence of conspiracy as a manner of incurring criminal liability,” the decision stated.
“However, the said accused decried partiality when the Court allowed her purported co-conspirator and co-accused Juan Ponce Enrile to file his demurrer to evidence,” the court made the comparison.
“While accused Reyes assails the alleged presence of conspiracy in this case, she now asserts the very same concept of conspiracy in her motion for reconsideration to entitle herself to file the intended demurrer to evidence,” it added.
With the resolution, the presentation of defense evidence on the case will be held on November 7 and 9 at two o’clock in the afternoon and every Tuesday and Thursday thereafter.
Enrile is accused of pocketing P172.8 million of kickbacks for allegedly channeling his PDAF to Napoles’ bogus NGOs.
READ: Sandiganbayan to resume Enrile’s plunder case trial on Oct. 16
Napoles is currently jailed at the Correctional Institute for Women.
She was previously found guilty in a separate plunder case, this time involving Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who was acquitted.
Enrile, Revilla, and Senator Jinggoy Estrada were senators who faced plunder and graft charges for the pork barrel scam.
