Sandiganbayan: Jinggoy may have been negligent, but no criminal intent

Senator Jinggoy Estrada listens as the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division announces its ruling on the plunder charge against him and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles in connection with the infamous pork barrel scam at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Friday, January 19, 2024 | PHOTO: Office of Sen. Estrada

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Jinggoy Estrada may have been negligent of his duties as he did not scrutinize transactions relating to his priority development assistance fund (PDAF), but it did not show any criminal intent according to the Sandiganbayan.

In its 396-page decision on Friday, Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division said that while it was Estrada who signed the endorsement letters — which eventually led to the transfer of his PDAF to fake non-government organizations created by convicted pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles — such act cannot prove the Senator’s criminal intent.

Estrada was acquitted of plunder earlier, and was instead convicted for one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery.

“The overt act should be coupled with the intention to commit a crime since this is an indispensable requirement to convict the accused […] Now, will the mere act of signing the said endorsement letters addressed to the Senate President and Implementing Agencies specifically mentioning SDPFFI and MAMFI, suffice to establish the liability of Senator Estrada for plunder?” the Fifth Division asked.

“We believe not. Criminal intent on the part of Senator Estrada is absent in this case. Although he may be negligent for not monitoring his PDAF, Labayen’s involvement in this diversion is incontrovertible,” it added, referring to Estrada’s former chief-of-staff Pauline Labayen, who is a co-accused in the case.

Labayen, who is still at-large, was pinpointed by Sandiganbayan as the person who benefitted the most from the pork barrel scam involving Estrada because she was the one who transacted with Napoles using the Senator’s name.

READ: Jinggoy’s conspiracy with Napoles wasn’t established, Sandiganbayan says 

Sandiganbayan also noted that Labayen chose to hide instead of defending herself before the court.

“Besides, Labayen could have chosen to defend herself instead of being a fugitive from justice.  The flight of an accused, in the absence of a credible explanation, would be a circumstance from which inference of guilt may be established ‘for a truly innocent person would normally grasp the first available opportunity to defend himself (or herself) and to assert his (or her) innocence,” the Court said.

With Sandiganbayan’s conviction of Estrada for one count of direct bribery, he was sentenced to a jail term of eight years as minimum up to nine years and four months; and for the two counts of indirect bribery, two to three years for each count.

Estrada, who was present during the case promulgation earlier, was also penalized with a special temporary disqualification from holding public office and an absolute disqualification from the right of suffrage.

READ: Jinggoy Estrada acquitted of plunder, convicted of bribery

However, Estrada’s legal team said the decision is still a victory because they maintained in the past that the Senator did not commit plunder. They will appeal the decision before the Sandiganbayan, and if needed, before the Supreme Court.

He will also not be detained for now as both bribery offenses are bailable, and the court will only hold on to the bonds he posted previously.