THE Sandiganbayan in separate resolutions has approved the plea of current Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile to file a demurer to evidence in the plunder case against him but denied the same motion filed by his former chief of staff, Jessica Lucila Reyes.
Enrile and Reyes are accused of plunder, along with Janet Lim Napoles, for supposedly amassing P172.83 million worth of kickbacks from Enrile’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel while he was Senate President, funneled through nonexistent nongovernment organizations created by Napoles.
“The Motion for Leave to File Demurrer to Evidence filed before the Court by accused Juan Ponce Enrile, through counsel, on September 8, 2023, is granted,” a copy of the Third Division’s Minutes dated September 18 read.
While the anti-graft court granted former Senate President Enrile’s motion and gave him 10 days to file his demurrer, it denied for lack of merit Reyes’ similar motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence, according to the Minutes of the Third Division dated September 19, 2023.
The court did not give any reason for the denial and merely gave Reyes five days to inform the court what she intended to do, giving her the option to still file a demurrer without leave of court “but subject to the legal consequence” under the Rules of Court.
The orders were signed by the justices of the Sandiganbayan Third Division—Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, Associate Justice Bernelito Fernan, and Associate Justice Ronald Moreno.