Napoles lawyer : Plunder case amendment a ‘small victory’

Janet Lim-Napoles.  INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The lawyer of Janet Lim-Napoles said it is a “small victory” that the prosecutor somehow agreed with their initial argument that Napoles is not a public official.

Lawyer Fay Isaguirre Singson cited the amended plunder charge that calls Napoles a “private individual” who collaborated with public officials in the scam.

Napoles’ camp had filed a motion to quash the information against her, saying Napoles is not a public official to be accused of plunder. Plunder is a criminal offense for public officials.

“The very argument that we have been raising is noted by the court. We have been vehement in our position that there is no plunder if the accused is a private individual,” Singson said.

The Ombudsman on Tuesday filed a motion before the Sandiganbayan asking the court to admit the amendment to the plunder charge against Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile.

According to the Ombudsman memorandum attached to the motion, the special prosecutor wants to amend the plunder information to say Napoles and her cohorts are “private individuals” who collaborated with the senators in amassing ill-gotten wealth.

They also would like to delete the phrase in Paragraph A of the plunder case that states the scam “(enabled) Napoles to misappropriate the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) proceeds for her personal gain.”

The memorandum was signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Monday.

“Apparently, it seems like the prosecutor is following our argument,” Singson said.

The Sandiganbayan is hearing the biggest corruption scandal under the current administration – the alleged pillaging of public funds to ghost projects for kickbacks through the bogus foundations of alleged mastermind Napoles.

Charged with plunder and graft are Napoles and Senators Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada. Revilla and Estrada have surrendered to the police.

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