Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile will remain a free man a bit longer,
as the Sandiganbayan is taking more time to determine whether there is
probable cause to prosecute him for plunder and graft over the
P10-billion pork barrel scam.
The antigraft court’s Third Division that is
handling the consolidated plunder and graft cases against Enrile and
his 48 coaccused reached no decision on Monday.
On the other hand, the Fifth Division, which
is handling the consolidated plunder and graft cases against Sen.
Jinggoy Estrada, ordered him and his 25 coaccused arrested Monday
morning.
The First Division, which is handling the
consolidated cases against Sen. Bong Revilla and his 31 coaccused, was
the first to decide, ordering the arrests on Thursday afternoon just
hours after a hearing.
The arrest warrants were issued the
following day, prompting Revilla and his coaccused, including his
legislative staff officer Richard Cambe, to turn themselves in and 20 of
those accused of graft to post bail last Friday.
Voluminous documents
During the hearing on Friday, members of the
Third Division—Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang (chair) and
Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Alex Quiroz—listened to Enrile’s
lawyer Estelito Mendoza challenge the more than 9,000 pages of documents
submitted by the Ombudsman as any proof that Enrile received kickbacks
from the pork barrel scam.
Martires assured Mendoza that the division read all the documents.
“I will read the 9,000 sheets (of paper). I
don’t care what the lawyers, the media think. This court will base its
decision on the evidence,” Martires said.
The three divisions heard defense motions to
either suspend the proceedings, defer the issuance of arrest warrants
or to dismiss the cases altogether.
The First Division, composed of Associate
Justices Efren de la Cruz (chair), Rafael Lagos and Napoleon Inoturan
(temporary member), issued a four-page resolution on Thursday saying the
Ombudsman charges showed “sufficient grounds exist for the finding of
probable cause” for issuing the arrest warrants.
The Fifth Division, composed of Associate
Justices Rolando Jurado (chair) Alexander Gesmundo and Quiroz (temporary
member), reached a similar decision.
“The arguments raised are matters of defense
[that can] be best threshed out during the trial on the merits of these
cases,” it said in its four-page decision.
3 more post bail
On Monday, three more accused posted bail, bringing the total to 23 out of the 54 people accused of graft accounted for.
Bail was set at P30,000 per count of graft.
Those who have posted bail are Dennis
Cunanan, Marivic Jover, Francisco Figura, Consuelo Espiritu and
Rosalinda Lacsamana of the Technology Resource Center;
Gondelina Amata, Chita Jalandoni and Gregoria Buenaventura of the National Livelihood Development Corp.;
Encarnita Munsod of the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor);
Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos and
Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule and Marilou Bare of the Department of
Budget and Management; the children of principal accused Janet
Lim-Napoles, Jo Christine and James Christopher; and employees of
Napoles’ bogus foundations Evelyn de Leon, Jocelyn Piorato, Eulogio
Rodriguez, Nitz Cabilao, Fernando Ramirez, Jesus Castillo, Dorilyn
Fabian and Renato Ornopia.
Revilla’s arraignment is set for June 26 while Estrada’s arraignment is set for June 30.
