Sandigan courts to tackle plunder, graft raps vs Napoles, 3 senators known

Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla and Juan Ponce Enrile. LEO M. SABANGAN II

MANILA, Philippines –The plunder and graft cases against senators accused of being involved in the pork barrel scam were raffled off to their respective Sandiganbayan divisions on Friday.

The criminal cases against Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile were raffled off to the following:

• Revilla with 17 cases including graft – Sandiganbayan first division
• Estrada with 12 cases including graft – Sandiganbayan fifth division
• Enrile with 16 cases including graft  – Sandiganbayan third division

The anti-graft court consolidated the plunder and graft raps per accused senator because the cases were related, Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang said.

Enrile’s case went to the division presided by Presiding Justice Tang, with Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Alex Quiroz as members.

Estrada’s case will be handled by the division chaired by Associate Justice Roland Jurado, with Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo as member. The fifth division has a vacant seat.

Revilla’s case went to the division chaired by Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz, with Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos as members.

Fourth division chair Associate Justice Gregory Ong inhibited from the case due to his alleged affiliation with Janet Lim-Napoles when his picture with Napoles during one of her parties surfaced. He was also accused in a Senate Blue Ribbon Comittee hearing of visiting the office of Napoles, the alleged mastermind in the scam. 

The anti-graft court raffled off the cases as it awaited the Supreme Court’s decision on the Ombudsman’s request for two special divisions within the Sandiganbayan to exclusively hear the cases.

The chosen divisions have at least 10 days to determine probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest. But the executive clerk of court Renato Bocar said the divisions may take longer depending on the complexity of the case.

The Ombudsman has filed plunder and graft charges against the senators for their alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso racket of diverting public funds to ghost projects for kickbacks.

Charged as co-accused with all three senators is Napoles, who is detained on charges of serious illegal detention. Her supposedly bogus organizations were allegedly used as dummy fronts for kickbacks.

Ombudsman said it found probable cause to indict Revilla with one count of plunder and 16 counts of graft; Enrile with one count of plunder and 15 counts of graft; and Estrada with one count of plunder and 11 counts of graft.

The anti-corruption agency said the senators’ following Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) were “never used for the intended projects” – Revilla with P517 million PDAF, Enrile with P345 million PDAF, and Estrada with P278 million PDAF.

Other pork barrel scam personalities are also implicated in the plunder case case. Enrile’s co-accused is Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, Estrada’s co-accused is Pauline Labayen, and Revilla’s co-accused is Richard Cambe. Co-accused for all three senators are Napoles and John Raymund De Asis. Co-accused for both Enrile and Revilla is Ronald John Lim.

Lim is Napoles’ nephew while De Asis is her long-time employee.

Meanwhile, the accused players in the graft case are: Cambe; De Asis; Mario Relampagos, Undersecretary for Operations in the Department of Budget and Management; Antonio Ortiz , former Director General, Technology Resource Center (TRC),Dennis Cunanan, Director General-on leave, TRC; Francisco Figura, group manager, TRC; Ma. Rosalinda Lacsamana, group manager, TRC; Marivic Jover, chief accountant, TRC; Myla Ogerio, Eulogio Rodriguez, Laarni Uy, Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule and Marilou Bare.

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