The Sandiganbayan Third Division has acquitted former Senate president and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief of staff Jessica “Gigi” Reyes, and businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles of plunder charges in connection with the P172-million pork barrel scam.
The anti-graft court ruled on Friday that state prosecutors failed to establish their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This decision concludes a legal battle that spanned 10 years, stemming from the Office of the Ombudsman’s 2014 decision to charge Enrile, Reyes, Napoles, and others for allegedly misusing Enrile’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), commonly referred to as the pork barrel.
Government prosecutors completed their presentation of evidence against Enrile in January 2024, and the verdict was initially scheduled for May 2024 but was delayed several times before being finalized on October 4.
The court also noted that two of Enrile’s co-accused, Ronald John Lim and John Raymund de Asis, remain at large.
Enrile, now 100, had been placed under hospital arrest but was granted provisional liberty in 2015 after posting P1.45 million bail due to his age and voluntary surrender.
Under Republic Act 7080, a public official can be charged with plunder if they accumulate at least P50 million in ill-gotten wealth through a series of overt criminal acts.