Sandiganbayan upholds Napoles plunder conviction

The Sandiganbayan has upheld the guilty verdict against convicted plunderer Janet Lim Napoles for the alleged misuse of the P224.5-million Priority Development Assistance Fund, or pork barrel, of former Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.

In a resolution dated March 13, the anti-graft court's First Division denied the motion for reconsideration of Napoles and said "the evidence [of the prosecution] is sufficient to establish the guilt beyond reasonable doubt."

The Sandiganbayan said the scheme, where P124.5 million of Revilla's PDAF was allegedly plundered, would be impossible if not for the conspiracy between Napoles and Revilla's former legislative aide, Richard Cambe.

Napoles appealed for the Sandiganbayan to reverse her conviction, saying the acquittal of Revilla extinguishes the plunder charge since the former lawmaker was considered to be the "main plunderer."

Napoles said she could not be the main culprit because she is a private individual and the ill-gotten wealth she supposedly received only amounted to P44 million.

On the other hand, she said the evidence against Cambe, the next public officer after Revilla, showed he received kickbacks from Napoles worth P13.9 million, well below of the P50-million threshold for a plunder case.

The Sandiganbayan, however, said the amounts cited by Napoles is only a portion of the summary of rebates submitted by scheme whistle-blower Benhur Luy. It noted Cambe further received P127.5 million in kickbacks from Napoles.

"It is clear that in the act of amassing and accumulation of ill-gotten wealth, Cambe did not act alone. He had a private individual, accused-movant Napoles, who not just aided him but was one in his design to amass and accumulate ill-gotten wealth," the Sandiganbayan said.

The Sandiganbayan said Napoles cannot claim ignorance in the scheme for she "took part in the conception or 'planning' of how to divert the PDAF for private gain."

The court also denied Napoles' claim that it should be Luy and Cambe who should be charged of conspiracy, saying it was her who led the liquidation part of the scheme.

"A conspiracy between Cambe and Luy, to the exclusion of Napoles could not be possible, because the [non-government organizations], through which the funds were diverted, were all creations of Napoles. Napoles has control of the bank accounts of these NGOs," the Sandiganbayan said.

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan reiterated how the prosecution failed to establish the culpability of Revilla.

The resolution said the buck stopped at Cambe after the scheme whistle-blowers testified that it was him who received the PDAF kickbacks supposedly on  behalf of Revilla, but the prosecution had no proof the funds went to the pocket of the former lawmaker.

"The bank deposits and property ownership of Cambe were not presented by the prosecution to prove that the monies paid by Napoles intended for Revilla is not with him. This left enough doubt in the mind of the majority on the matter of culpability of Revilla," it said. — RSJ, GMA News