Jinggoy, Enrile file motions before Sandiganbayan

By AMANDA FERNANDEZ, GMA News

Published June 20, 2014 10:42am

(Updated 1:40 p.m.) Two divisions of Sandiganbayan on Friday submitted for resolution the separate motions of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada over the plunder and graft charges the two are facing in connection with the P10-B pork barrel scam.

The anti-graft court's Third Division submitted for resolution Enrile's motion to dismiss the case and motion for bail.

For its part, the Fifth Division submitted for resolution Estrada's motion for judicial determination of probable cause.

In an interview with reporters, Estrada's legal counsel, lawyer Jose Flaminiano, said that during the hearing, the prosecution submitted a comment on their motion.

"Kanina, nag-submit ng comment ang prosecution. Humingi sana kami ng time para sumagot kaso hindi na pinagbigyan ng court," he said. "Kaya submitted na, wala ng oral arguments."

When asked if he fears that an arrest warrant will be issued later in the afternoon, Flaminiano said: "Hindi naman siguro minamadali, kasi under the rules of court, mayroon silang 10 days from the time na tinanggap nila ang kaso kung mag-issue sila ng warrant of arrest or not."

He, however, noted that his client is willing to surrender before the Sandiganbayan if an arrest warrant will be issued.

He added that if ever a warrant of arrest will indeed be issued, their camp will file a motion for bail.

No evidence vs. Enrile

On the other hand, Enrile's legal counsel, lawyer Estelito Mendoza, reiterated that there is no evidence to the Ombudsman's claim that Enrile accumulated at least P172 million from the alleged scam.

"'Yung totoo, sinabi sa information na babasahin mo, na tumanggap ng pera sa PDAF [Priority Development Assistance Fund] ay si Napoles lang," he said, referring to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, alleged brains of the scam.

Meanwhile, he declined to comment when asked if his client is willing to surrender if an arrest warrant will be issued.

"Why are we talking about surrender? There is no warrant," he said.

Earlier, Enrile asked the court to dismiss the case filed against him for lack of evidence on record to establish probable cause.

Enrile said in case of a positive finding of probable cause against him, the court should issue an order allowing him to post bail and setting the amount “before the determination of whether evidence of guilt is strong, pending determination of whether evidence of guilt is strong, and after the said determination, if and in the remote possibility that, it is determined that the evidence of his guilt is strong.”

He insisted that he was not guilty of the charges as his participation “[was] merely to recommend the projects to be funded under the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) appropriation.”

Enrile, a veteran politician, is facing plunder and graft charges for allegedly receiving kickbacks by funneling his PDAF allocations through bogus non-government organizations. Plunder is a non-bailable offense, but the accused can seek recourse if the prosecution fails to present compelling evidence.

In his motion, Enrile asked the court, which has yet to issue an arrest warrant, to allow him to post bail even if the evidence against him was strong, noting that the “probability of evading prosecution [was] unlikely.”

The move was in contrast to Enrile's earlier statement to the media that he was "prepared" to be jailed.

"I’m prepared. Even if I’ll die in my cell, it’s okay. At my age, I’ve gone through life already," the 90-year-old Enrile said last June 10.

Enrile, Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. are facing plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

Also facing similar charges in connection with the fraud are Napoles and Enrile's former chief of staff Jessica Lucila "Gigi" Reyes. — LBG/KG, GMA News

Tags: jinggoyestrada, bantaykaban, porkbarrelscam, juanponceenrile