Convicted plunderer Janet Lim Napoles is seeking the summary dismissal of the case against her before the Sandiganbayan, citing that the evidence presented by the Ombudsman was not enough to convict her and her co-accused.
Napoles, convicted of plunder in a separate case with former Senator Ramon Revilla, Jr. who was acquitted, cited the Supreme Court ruling that a public official should be named as the main accused to ensure the validity of the plunder complaint.
She alleged that the prosecution made an error when she was named as the mastermind in the alleged misuse of Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s P183-million Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel.
In her motion for demurrer to evidence, Napoles said the main accused in the case should be Estrada and his former chief of staff, Pauline Labayen, who were then both public officials.
“The case is shrouded with serious doubts because the information suggests that accused Napoles, a private individual, is the main plunderer by alleging that the scheme enabled her ‘to misappropriate the PDAF proceeds for her personal gain’,” said Napoles.
“Thus, the pieces of evidence adduced by the prosecution are insufficient to prove plunder beyond reasonable doubt as they failed to point to any public officer as the main plunderer,” she added.
Napoles also claimed that the case did not meet the required threshold amount of at least P50 million to push plunder.
“There having been no main plunderer alleged in the information or proven in the course of the trial, the third element of the crime of plunder, that the aggregate amount or total value of the ill-gotten wealth amassed, accumulated, or acquired is at least P50,000,000.00 has not been met,” her motion read.
A demurrer to evidence is a plea to the court to dismiss outright a case, based solely on the evidence presented by the prosecution.
The motions for demurrer to evidence filed by Estrada and Napoles provided the anti-graft court the opportunity to evaluate if the evidence against the accused is sufficient enough to warrant the conviction of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.