MANILA – The Sandiganbayan 1st Division upheld the conviction of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles for plunder in relation to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
In a resolution that promulgated on March 13 but was released publicly on Monday, the Sandiganbayan has denied the motion to reverse Napoles’ plunder case which the guilty verdict filed.
Napoles, who is currently detained at the Correctional Institution for Women, filed a motion claiming that she was not the main plunderer in the case just like her co-accused former Senator Bong Revilla, who was earlier acquitted by the court.
The Sandiganbayan division argued that Napoles and Revilla’s staff Richard Cambe was identified as the main plunderer in the case that was filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
“While the court did not find sufficient evidence for the pronouncement of guilt on the part of Revilla, there is an overwhelming evidence presented to show that his co-accused Cambe, who is a government official together with accused movant Janet Lim Napoles to be the main plunderers in this case,” the court said.
The Sandiganbayan also disagreed with Napoles’ claim that the amount allegedly plundered by Cambe was below the P50 million threshold as the documentary evidence from whistleblower Benhur Luy showed that the plundered money was P124.5 million.
“In fact, every time a big withdrawal is made from these bank accounts, it was Napoles whom the bank calls to verify or confirm the withdrawals, instead of the NGO’s president or officers,” the court said.
“Certainly, Luy and the other JLN staff performed certain acts that contributed to the commission of the crime of plunder by Napoles and Cambe. But this does not exclude Napoles from the picture,” it added.
Napoles, Revilla and Cambe were all found guilty for the scam but the former senator was earlier allowed to post bail after it was ruled that he was not the “main plunderer” in the case.
Revilla allegedly misused public funds when he allocated P224 million of his PDAF during his time as a senator to bogus non-government organizations owned by Napoles. /PN
