Enrile, Reyes, Napoles cleared of plunder in pork barrel case

FILE PHOTO: Gigi Reyes and former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who is currently President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s chief legal counsel. The Sandiganbayan Special Third Division acquitted them of plunder during promulgation on Friday, October 4, 2024. INQUIRER PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, currently serving as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s chief legal counsel, his former aide Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, and Janet Napoles, known for the moniker pork barrel scam queen, were acquitted of plunder.

The Sandiganbayan Special Third Division’s verdict on Enrile, Reyes, and Napoles during promulgation on Friday stemmed from cases connected to the misuse of pork barrel funds, which broke out in 2013.

The anti-graft court’s decision came after it granted Enrile’s demurrer to evidence motion concerning his plunder case.

A demurrer to evidence is filed once the prosecution has rested its case. Here, the defendant argues that the prosecution’s evidence against him or her is inadequate to support the case.

The Ombudsman filed plunder complaints against Enrile, Reyes, Ronald Lim, John Raymund de Asis, and Janet Lim Napoles on June 5, 2014. They were accused of amassing P172 million from Enrile’s Priority Development Assistance Fund from 2004 to 2010.

READ: Enrile on his plunder case: Ok with SC allowing trial to continue

In 2018, the Sandiganbayan found Napoles guilty of plunder in a separate case involving the misuse of Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.’s pork barrel fund.

Other cases related to the pork barrel scam were likewise filed against Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada — however, both were eventually acquitted.

Enrile, Revilla, and Estrada ran for senator in the 2019 polls, but only Revilla won in that election. Estrada ran again in the 2022 polls and finally triumphed.