But Sandigan finds senator guilty of bribery
The Sandiganbayan on Friday cleared Senator Jinggoy Estrada of plunder charges but found him guilty of direct and indirect bribery in the 2013 pork barrel scam, offenses that could send him to jail for more than 10 years if the verdict is upheld.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Estrada was duty-bound to continue performing his functions as senator “until and unless the decision [of the anti-graft court] becomes final and executory.”
The cases stemmed from Estrada’s reported transactions with businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, who set up bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) to receive Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) or “pork barrel” from public officials then funneled kickbacks to them.
Convicted plunderer Napoles, who has been in prison since 2015, was found guilty on separate counts of “corruption of public officials” as defined and penalized under Articles 210 and 211 as well of the RPC.
She was ordered to serve additional years behind bars because of this.
The Office of the Ombudsman began its investigation of the pork barrel scam in 2013. Estrada was charged with plundering P183.8 million worth of public funds on June 6, 2014, together with his then deputy chief of staff Paulene Therese Mary Labayen, Napoles, and her assistant John Raymund de Asis.
Republic Act 7080 or the Plunder Law defines the crime as the acquisition of ill-gotten wealth by any public officer in connivance with other parties in the aggregate amount of at least P50 million.
Based on its 396-page ruling, the Sandiganbayan found Estrada and Napoles “not guilty” of this offense because the Ombudsman failed to prove that the lawmaker amassed at least P50 million in ill-gotten wealth.
But the anti-graft court found reasons to convict Estrada of one countof “indirect bribery” under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC). He was sentenced to face eight to nine years of imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of P3 million.
Estrada was also found guilty of two counts of “direct bribery,” which carries a penalty of two to three years in prison.
The anti-graft court also imposed on Estrada the additional penalty of temporary absolute disqualification and perpetual special disqualification from the right of suffrage.
Estrada attended the hearing with his wife, Precy, and two of theirchildren, including daughter Janela, who currently works as undersecretary of the National Authority for Childcare.
He told reporters that he did not sleep well the night before thepromulgation, but he is keeping his faith in the justice system.
“We will file the necessary motion for reconsideration before the Sandiganbayan. And, yes, I will instruct all my lawyers again to exhaust all legal options, all legal remedies,” he said.
Alexis Abastillas Suarez, a lawyer for the senator, said they consider the Sandiganbayan decision on plunder a “very big victory” after 10 years of trial.
“For the charges of direct and indirect bribery, we’re not sure as to the basis of the court for the charges, because bribery is not part of the information. It’s not connected to the information on the crime of plunder,” Suarez said.
Zubiri said the Senate takes due notice and respects the decision ofthe anti-graft court on the cases filed against Estrada. It also recognizes the fact that there are still remedies available to Estrada under existing laws and the rules of the court.
Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito also called on everyone to respect thewisdom and fairness of the justice system, after the anti-graft court passed judgment on his half-brother.
“I wish him well and will continue to pray for Senator Jinggoy Estrada and his family,” he said.
The chairperson of the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, Associate Justice Rafael Lagos, wrote the decision, which was certified by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang.
Estrada, Senator Ramon Revilla, and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile were charged with plunder in connection with the alleged misuse of their pork barrel through NGOs operated by Napoles.
Revilla has since been acquitted, but the case against Ponce Enrile is still pending. The cases also involve the foundations created by Napoles.
In Estrada’s case, the court said the prosecution proved that P262million worth of Special Allotment Releases Orders (SAROs) involved inthe case were transferred to several NGOs controlled by Napoles and that the PDAF projects they were supposed to fund were nonexistent.
The P262 million, the court said, “constitutes the actual damages suffered by the government resulting from the unlawful scheme.”
“The disbursements proven in this case to have been given by Napoles to accused Estrada (P1,000,000) and [Estrada’s former aide] Pauline Labayen (P8,875,000)… cannot be deducted from the P262,034,000 because such disbursements are unlawful and illegitimate transactions,” it added.
Estrada was ordered to pay a fine of P3 million.
The court said Napoles should pay the government P262.034 million, plus 6 percent annual interest until full payment has been made.
The court also found Napoles guilty of five counts of corruption of public officials and ordered her to pay a fine of P29.625 million.
Estrada thanked the Sandiganbayan but expressed surprise at the guilty verdict for bribery and indirect bribery.
He said that the information sheet or complaint against him made no mention of bribery or indirect bribery.
“I did not receive any money. I would like to thank the magistrates of the Sandiganbayan that after a decade, my case has been resolved. It took almost 10 years but still, I am very, very thankful. This is a vindication of my name,” he said.
Estrada said the decision on the bribery charges is “appealable” and they will exhaust all legal remedies.
“Well, nothing is final. That is appealable. We will file the necessary motion for reconsideration before the Sandiganbayan,” he said.
Former senator Leila de Lima, who as Justice secretary filed the plunder cases against Napoles, Estrada, and other lawmakers in the pork barrel scam, said was taking the decision with “curiosity and respect.”
She said she was convinced the special task force of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had a strong plunder case against Estrada.
“I’m curious to find out what element or elements of the crime of plunder the Sandiganbayan deemed wanting and why the evidence was deemed insufficient to support a conviction for that crime,” De Lima said.
“I believe that we had a strong case against Senator Jinggoy when the DOJ-NBI Special Task Force filed the plunder complaint against him with the Ombudsman,” she added, citing statements made by the go-between Ruby Tuason, who was among the state witnesses that testified against Estrada.
“(Tuason) said she dealt directly with the senator (Estrada) and Napoles insofar as his PDAF funds were concerned,” De Lima said. “Even Benhur Luy stated he personally delivered Jinggoy’s kickbacks to his secretary, Pauline Labayen, who had since then gone missing.”
She said she has yet to read the Sandiganbayan decision but said an appeal could go both ways.
“If Senator Jinggoy appeals this conviction, there is still a chance that the SC will modify this judgment to either an acquittal, on one hand, or a plunder conviction, on the other. Of course, I have yet to read the decision to find out whether Senator Jinggoy risks a plunder conviction with the SC if he still appeals the Sandiganbayan decision convicting him only of bribery,” De Lima said.
“I am sure that is what his lawyers are already studying [that] at this very moment. Because once they appeal to the SC, the [Sandiganbayan] judgment is opened wide for modifications, including a conviction for plunder, without violating the rule on double jeopardy,” the former senator and DOJ chief added.