Sandiganbayan reverses Jinggoy Estrada’s bribery conviction

Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada during the weekly Kapihan sa Senado forum on June 4, 2024. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has reversed its decision convicting Senator Jinggoy Estrada of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery in connection with the pork barrel scam.

In its 26-page resolution dated Aug. 22, the court granted Estrada’s motion for reconsideration, which seeks to reverse his conviction.

To recall, Estrada and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles were acquitted of plunder last Jan. 19.

READ: Jinggoy Estrada acquitted of plunder, convicted of bribery

The court “partially reconsiders” the conviction of Napoles for one count of corruption of public officials in relation to one count of direct bribery against Estrada, which was already reversed.

However, the court upheld her conviction for four counts of corruption of public officials, which violates Article 212 concerning Article 210, paragraph 2, of the Revised Penal Code.

“She is hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment of eight years of prison mayor, as minimum, to 10 years and eight months of prison mayor, as maximum, for each count and is ordered to pay a fine of P29,625,000,” the resolution reads.

“The imposition of civil liability in the amount of P262,034,000 with interest of 6 percent per annum is likewise MAINTAINED,” it adds.

Civil liability is a legal obligation that requires a party to pay for damages or to follow other court-enforcements in a lawsuit.

According to the resolution, Estrada insisted that the prosecution “failed to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt for the lesser offenses.”

“For direct bribery, he argues that a judgment of conviction must be supported by evidence of actual delivery of the bribe and that in this case, there was no proof of money changing hands personally involving him,” it said.

Estrada also said that his former deputy chief-of-staff Pauline Therese Mary Labayen’s receipt of kickbacks does not mean he received the same.

Meanwhile, Napoles failed to refute the corroborating testimonies about her control over whistleblower Benhur Luy and others, the proceeds of Estrada’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the non-government organizations (NGOs) and their bank accounts, and her overall participation in the scheme.

The plunder case against Estrada, Napoles, and others stemmed from transferring Estrada’s PDAF, or pork barrel, to bogus NGOs owned by Napoles.

Estrada was charged with plunder for allegedly receiving kickbacks worth P55.79 million from Napoles.

The prosecution accused Estrada of accumulating ill-gotten wealth after he allegedly gained P55.79 million from the scheme, aside from being “an active participant in the conspiracy to commit plunder.”

Eventually, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division allowed Estrada and Napoles to file a demurrer to evidence or seek outright dismissal of the cases against them. But these were denied in June 2019 as it was established that he approved the transfer of his PDAF to Napoles’ NGOs.