Sandiganbayan justice vows fairness in Enrile’s case

Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Samuel Martires on Friday said he would not be pressured by public opinion in his decision on the motions of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile for his plunder and graft charges over the pork barrel scam.

In a hearing by the anti-graft third division, Martires vowed he would not be swayed by the public nor the media.

“I will not yield to public pressure or opinion… I do not hear opinions that are baseless. I will not care what lawyers and the media will say,” Martires said.

The justice cited the division’s decision, of which he is a member, in granting bail and plea bargaining agreement to former military comptroller Carlos Garcia over his charges of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering. The division eventually recalled the bail order.

“I’m already castigated in Garcia’s case,” Martires said.

Garcia has been accused of plunder for allegedly amassing over P300-million government funds. In 2011, the Sandiganbayan approved the plea bargain agreement saying Garcia was able to comply with the anti-graft court’s condition for the immediate transfer, conveyance of his real and personal properties including bank accounts to the government.

Under the deal, Garcia entered a “guilty plea” to a lesser offense of direct bribery instead of plunder in exchange for returning over P135-million worth of assets.

In the plunder case of the 90-year-old senator, Martires promised to be fair to Enrile.

“I personally promise that I am going to read nine million or nine thousand pages (of the case),” he said.

Martires made the statement after Enrile’s lawyer Estelito Mendoza defended his client’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of evidence on record to establish probable cause, as well as a motion for bail.

“Do not worry about the media. Do not worry about public opinion. If we have to work 24 hours a day, we will do it,” Martires added.

In an interview after the hearing, Enrile’s counsel Mendoza said it is only expected from the court to be fair to Enrile.

“That is why we have the courts. The Bill of Rights is intended to protect the unpopular… against the clamor of the mob,” Mendoza said.

“That is why I said the Sandiganbayan is sealed precisely against popular clamor. Otherwise you do not need any court. If you want to convict a person, then let’s decide by elections,” he added.

After the hearing, the third division submitted for resolution all of Enrile’s motions. When the court found probable cause to hold Enrile on trial, an arrest warrant may be issued.

The Ombudsman, in indicting the lawmaker, said the former senate president amassed P172.834 million in kickbacks from 2003 to 2010 from the alleged illegal disbursement of his Priority Development Assistance Funds.

Enrile faces one count of plunder and 15 counts of graft.

Also charged were senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada, as well as alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

As of press time, only the arrest warrant against Revilla has been issued.

The pork barrel scam is an elaborate scheme of allegedly diverting billions of public funds to ghost projects for kickbacks.

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