Sandigan acquits Napoles in 16 PDAF cases

FORMER businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles has been found not guilty in 16 graft cases filed against her and several others in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, the Sandiganbayan First Division ruled Monday, May 22, 2023.

Napoles, however, will remain in jail as she was convicted for two counts of graft and two counts of malversation in another set of PDAF cases, this time involving the late Davao del Sur representative Douglas Cagas.

The Sandiganbayan, in its 223-page decision promulgated May 22, 2023, said the prosecution failed to prove Napoles’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt in all the 16 charges filed for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as amended.

“The alleged acts are predicate crimes of plunder in ‘People v. Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr.,’ Criminal Case No. SB-14-CRM-0240, under which she has already been previously charged and convicted,” the ruling stated.

With this, the anti-graft court ordered the lifting of hold departure orders issued against Napoles.

Also found not guilty were Napoles’ co-accused Gondelina G. Amata, Ofelia E. Ordoñez, Sofia D. Cruz, Evelyn B. Sucgang, Francisco B. Figura, Ma. Rosalinda M. Lacsamana, Marivic V. Jover, Consuelo Lilian R. Espiritu, Victor Roman C. Cacal, and Maria Ninez P. Guañizo.

“The bonds posted by the above accused are hereby ordered released, subject to the usual accounting and auditing procedures. The Hold Departure Order issued against them are also set aside and declared functus officio,” the court ruled.

Found guilty, however, were Dennis L. Cunanan, Gregoria Buenaventura, Rhodora B. Mendoza, Evelyn D. De Leon, Laarni Uy, and Jocelyn Piorato.

They were sentenced to imprisonment of six years and one month to eight years for each count, with perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of retirement benefits.

The cases against Revilla’s former political officer Richard A. Cambe, Eulogio D. Rodriguez, and Emmanuel Alexis G. Sevidal, “who died during the pendency of these cases,” were dismissed.

Those filed against John Raymund De Asis, Antonio Y. Ortiz, Alan A. Javellana and Maria Julie Villaralvo-Johnson, who are at-large, have been archived.

The 16 cases were filed against Napoles, Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and the other accused, including former officers of the Department of Budget and Management, nongovernment organizations, and private individuals, on June 9, 2014 by the Field Investigation Office of the Ombudsman.

The anti-graft court acquitted Revilla in the plunder case in 2018 for insufficiency of evidence, while Napoles and the other accused were convicted. On July 1, 2021, the court granted the demurrer to evidence of Revilla and dismissed the cases against him.

Monday’s decision was ordered by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg and concurred by Associate Justices Efren De la Cruz and Arthur Malabaguio.

In the Cagas-related PDAF cases, meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan 2nd Division found the report made by the Anti-Money Laundering Council complementing the testimony of whistleblower Benhur Luy.

Luy testified that Napoles owned, controlled and operated the NGOs involved in the PDAF scam.

The court then found guilty of graft Napoles, Belina Concepcion, Mylene Encarnacion, and Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, who were ordered to indemnify the government P7.6 million, reportedly the worth of the PDAF “wrongfully and illegally” disbursed.

They were also convicted of malversation and ordered to pay a fine of P7.6 million.

The other accused in the cases -- Mario Relampagos, Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule, Marilou Bare, Dennis Cunanan, Francisco Figura, Marivic Jover and Maurine Dimaranan -- were acquitted for the prosecution’s failure to prove their guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

The charges filed against Cagas were also dismissed because he died in 2021. (LMY)