MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has acquitted Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, along with co-accused Gigi Reyes and Janet Lim Napoles, in a plunder case tied to the pork barrel scam. This ruling was announced on October 4, 2024.
The court found that the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt regarding allegations that Enrile and Reyes conspired with Napoles to divert P172.83 million from the former Senate president’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) through fraudulent NGOs created by Napoles.
“I always believed I would be acquitted because we did nothing wrong in this case. I hope those who filed the charges against us reflect on their actions,” Enrile stated after the verdict.
He further asserted that there was no evidence to prove that Napoles or prosecution witness Ruby Tuason had provided him with any funds. Additionally, he denied any endorsement of Napoles’ NGOs for funding purposes.
Reyes, who served as Enrile’s chief of staff from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2004 to 2010, also contended that she never signed any letters endorsing the NGOs connected to Enrile’s PDAF. This lengthy legal battle began on June 5, 2014, and has been ongoing for nearly a decade.
