Sandigan courts to tackle plunder, graft raps vs Napoles, 3 senators known

By: Marc Jayson Cayabyab - 11 years ago

Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla and Juan Ponce Enrile. LEO M. SABANGAN II

MANILA, Philippines 鈥揟he plunder and graft cases against senators accused of being involved in the pork barrel scam were raffled off to their respective Sandiganbayan divisions on Friday.

The criminal cases against Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Jose 鈥淛inggoy鈥� Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile were raffled off to the following:

Revilla with 17 cases including graft 鈥� Sandiganbayan first division
Estrada with 12 cases including graft 鈥� Sandiganbayan fifth division
Enrile with 16 cases including graft听鈥� Sandiganbayan third division

The anti-graft court consolidated the plunder and graft raps per accused senator because the cases were related, Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang said.

Enrile鈥檚 case went to the division presided by Presiding Justice Tang, with Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Alex Quiroz as members.

Estrada鈥檚 case will be handled by the division chaired by Associate Justice Roland Jurado, with Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo as member. The fifth division has a vacant seat.

Revilla鈥檚 case went to the division chaired by Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz, with Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos as members.

Fourth division chair Associate Justice Gregory Ong inhibited from the case due to his alleged affiliation with Janet Lim-Napoles when his picture with Napoles during one of her parties surfaced. He was also accused in a Senate Blue Ribbon Comittee hearing of visiting the office of Napoles, the alleged mastermind in the scam.听

The anti-graft court raffled off the cases as it awaited the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision on the Ombudsman鈥檚 request for two special divisions within the Sandiganbayan to exclusively hear the cases.

The chosen divisions have at least 10 days to determine probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest. But the executive clerk of court Renato Bocar said the divisions may take longer depending on the complexity of the case.

The Ombudsman has filed plunder and graft charges against the senators for their alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso racket of diverting public funds to ghost projects for kickbacks.

Charged as co-accused with all three senators is Napoles, who is detained on charges of serious illegal detention. Her supposedly bogus organizations were allegedly used as dummy fronts for kickbacks.

Ombudsman said it found probable cause to indict Revilla with one count of plunder and 16 counts of graft; Enrile with one count of plunder and 15 counts of graft; and Estrada with one count of plunder and 11 counts of graft.

The anti-corruption agency said the senators鈥� following Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) were 鈥渘ever used for the intended projects鈥� 鈥� Revilla with P517 million PDAF, Enrile with P345 million PDAF, and Estrada with P278 million PDAF.

Other pork barrel scam personalities are also implicated in the plunder case case. Enrile鈥檚 co-accused is Jessica Lucila 鈥淕igi鈥� Reyes, Estrada鈥檚 co-accused is Pauline Labayen, and Revilla鈥檚 co-accused is Richard Cambe. Co-accused for all three senators are Napoles and John Raymund De Asis. Co-accused for both Enrile and Revilla is Ronald John Lim.

Lim is Napoles鈥� nephew while De Asis is her long-time employee.

Meanwhile, the accused players in the graft case are: Cambe; De Asis; Mario Relampagos, Undersecretary for Operations in the Department of Budget and Management; Antonio Ortiz , former Director General, Technology Resource Center (TRC),Dennis Cunanan, Director General-on leave, TRC; Francisco Figura, group manager, TRC; Ma. Rosalinda Lacsamana, group manager, TRC; Marivic Jover, chief accountant, TRC; Myla Ogerio, Eulogio Rodriguez, Laarni Uy, Rosario Nu帽ez, Lalaine Paule and Marilou Bare.

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