“SEXY” may have to spend another Christmas with “Pogi” behind bars.
The Sandiganbayan yesterday sought a 15-day extension from the Supreme Court to resolve the bail petition of detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, one of the accused in the P10-billion pork barrel racket.
Estrada, allegedly known by the alias “Sexy” in the ledger of suspected scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, has been locked up in Camp Crame since June last year along with Sen. Bong Revilla, said to be identified as “Pogi” in Napoles’ financial records.
The two have been charged with graft and plunder by the Office of the Ombudsman for purportedly funnelling hundreds of millions of their pork barrel allotments to bogus foundations organized by Napoles. The businesswoman, who is also detained, allegedly plowed the money back to the lawmakers’ pockets after taking a cut.
Ma. Teresa Pabulayan, clerk of court of the antigraft court’s Fifth Division, said the three-member division wrote the high court saying it could not rule on Estrada’s bail plea within the mandated 48-hour period.
“The reason cited (by the justices) was the voluminous documentary evidence that need to be reviewed,” Pabulayan told reporters.
“It’s (almost impossible) for the court to rule within 48 hours because of the sheer volume of documentary evidence. The justices said they will work on the petition during the holidays,” she added.
According to Pabulayan, the justices had to examine the transcript of the testimonies of 28 witnesses who were presented during the 17-month court proceedings.
Should the high court grant the request for an extension, the Fifth Division would resolve Estrada’s petition on or before Jan. 13, 2016, considering the schedule of government offices during the holidays, she said.
Estrada, accused of pocketing P183 million in kickbacks from Napoles, had expressed confidence that the court would approve his bail plea, saying he was looking forward to spending Christmas with his family.