PORK BARREL SCAM | Sandiganbayan finds Jinggoy not guilty of plunder, guilty of bribery

January 19, 2024 , 01:38 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(January 19, 2024) – Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was acquitted of plunder but convicted of direct and indirect bribery in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam in a decision promulgated by the Sandiganbayan on Friday.

In a 396-page ruling, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division said the evidence of the prosecution was insufficient to establish Estrada’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt for plunder but found the same enough to meet the elements of bribery.

He was sentenced to up to nine years and four months for one count of direct bribery and up to three years, six months, and 20 days for each of the two counts of indirect bribery. His conviction carried accessory penalties, including perpetual special disqualification from the right to vote and suspension from public office, among others.

But Estrada’s camp already expressed intention to appeal the ruling.

Plunder, as defined under Republic Act No. 7080, requires that the defendant “amassed, accumulated, or acquired ill-gotten wealth in the aggregate amount of P50 million” via “a combination or series of overt criminal acts.”

But the Sandiganbayan, an anti-graft court, was not convinced that Estrada’s act of signing the endorsement letters that mentioned the two bogus foundations of convicted pork barrel queen Janet Lim-Napoles was sufficient to hold him liable for plunder. Instead, the Sandiganbayan said Estrada may have been negligent.

“His negligence cannot be construed as an overt act in furtherance of conspiracy with Napoles and the other accused,” said the Sandiganbayan. “Senator Estrada’s mere act of signing the endorsement letters is insufficient to conclude that he is a co-conspirator in the instant case.”

Estrada, who was reelected in the Senate in 2022, was accused of acquiring ill-gotten wealth amounting to P183 million through kickbacks from Napoles. But the ruling said the prosecution failed to show “direct proof” that he “received commissions/rebates/kickbacks in consideration of his endorsement.”

The Sandiganbayan, however, ruled that the evidence was sufficient to establish direct bribery and indirect bribery, citing the variance principle.

Direct bribery occurs when a public officer agrees to “perform an act or (refrain) from doing something because of the gift or promise,” as explained in Pozar v Court of Appeals, which the Sandiganbayan cited. It added that this agreement is not necessary in indirect bribery.

“Being a senator who is allocated with PDAF, he exercised full control over the release thereof and had the sole discretion as to the livelihood project that would be funded by it,” explained the Sandiganbayan.

Estrada was held liable for indirect bribery for receiving P1.5 million from Napoles, according to the court. This did not constitute direct bribery because “no agreement yet was reached between Napoles and Estrada regarding the utilization of his PDAF allocation” before 2008. His act of accepting and keeping the amount consummated the crime.

Following the release of Sandiganbayan’s ruling, some of Estrada’s co-senators, including his brother Sen. JV Ejercito, issued statements.

“I urge everyone to respect the wisdom and fairness of our justice system. Our justice system, despite its imperfection, is there to maintain law and order, protect our rights, and provide justice,” said Ejercito.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri noted that there are still remedies that Estrada can avail of.

“He has the right to exhaust all of these,” said Zubiri. “Until and unless the decision becomes final and executory, Sen. Jinggoy is duty-bound to continue performing his functions as a senator of the Republic.”

(PM)

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