Enrile deputy chief of staff posts bail

Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The former deputy chief of staff of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday posted bail for his graft charges over the pork barrel scam.

Jose Antonio Evangelista paid in full the P450,000 bail for his 15 counts of graft as co-accused of Enrile.

Evangelista was blamed by his co-accused, Enrile’s resigned chief of staff Gigi Reyes as overlooking that her signatures on Enrile’s Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) documents were forged.

Reyes also said it is not her duty but Evangelista’s to evaluate and respond to funding requests from Enrile’s PDAF entitlements, and to oversee the proper filing and implementation of the senator’s pet projects meant to ease rural poverty.

Evangelista took full responsibility for processing the disbursement of Enrile’s PDAF as his deputy chief of staff while claiming the evidence against him was spurious.

He also blamed implementing agencies for the diversion of PDAF allocations to bogus nongovernment organizations (NGOs).

The Sandiganbayan third division has yet to find probable cause against Enrile and his co-accused to hold them on trial.

Enrile along with Senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada faces plunder and graft charges over the pork barrel scam.

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