FORMER senator and now Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile has been acquitted of his remaining graft charges in connection with the alleged misuse of his P172.8 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
In a decision penned by Sandiganbayan Special Third Division Chairperson Ronald Moreno and promulgated on Friday, October 24, 2025, the court also cleared Enrile’s former chief of staff Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, former deputy chief of staff Jose Antonio Evangelista II, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, and 15 others after the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
No civil liability or fine was imposed against the accused.
Enrile, 101 years old, was unable to physically attend the promulgation as he is currently confined in a hospital.
Napoles, who remains detained over other PDAF-related cases, attended the proceedings online, while Reyes and the other accused were physically present in court.
The case stemmed from the alleged funneling of Enrile’s P172.8 million PDAF from 2004 to 2010 to Napoles’ bogus non-government organizations in exchange for kickbacks.
Enrile’s office allegedly identified the projects for implementation under his PDAF allocation, endorsed implementing agencies or NGOs linked to Napoles, and approved or signed supporting letters requesting the release of funds.
Napoles’ NGOs were later found to be “ghost” or non-existent organizations.
Also implicated in the PDAF scam but later acquitted were former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
The PDAF scam remains one of the most high-profile corruption cases in the country, sparking public outrage and leading to the Supreme Court’s abolition of the PDAF system in 2013. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)