SC upholds 3 more PDAF cases vs Napoles

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the indictment of detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles in three more cases involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.

In separate rulings yesterday, the high court dismissed the petitions of Napoles questioning the decisions of the Office of the Ombudsman finding probable cause in the charges of graft, malversation of public funds and corruption of public officials against her.

The SC held that the anti-graft office was correct in filing the three separate cases against Napoles before the Sandiganbayan, spokesman Theodore Te announced in a press conference.

The SC held that the petitions filed by Napoles, who is already serving sentence for conviction in a serious illegal detention case, lacked merit.

“The power to determine whether a complaint is sufficient in form and substance is lodged with the ombudsman, who may continue with the inquiry or dismiss outright. The exercise of this power is rarely disturbed in view of this court’s policy of non-interference in the ombudsman’s exercise of its investigatory and prosecutory powers,” the SC ruled.

The petitions involved the cases of Napoles and former Representatives Rozzano Rufino Biazon (Muntinlupa City), Rodolfo Valencia (first district of Oriental Mindoro), Marc Douglas Cagas IV (first district of Davao del Sur), Arrel Olaño (first district of Davao del Norte), Arthur Pingoy, Jr. (second district of South Cotabato) and several others in connection with the PDAF scam.   

Ex-ERC chief pleads not guilty

Meanwhile, former Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Zenaida Ducut pleaded not guilty to graft and malversation of public funds charges stemming from her alleged involvement in the PDAF scam before the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division yesterday.

Three other respondents to the case – Dennis Cunanan and Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana of the Technology Resource Center and Evelyn de Leon of the non-government organization (NGO) Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. - also entered not guilty pleas during the arraignment.

Ducut, also a former lawmaker, will be tried as a co-accused of Biazon and Napoles. She is accused of being Biazon’s bagwoman in his alleged transactions with Napoles, whose bogus NGOs implemented ghost projects using the PDAF.

Biazon allegedly misused P3 million in public funds in 2007 and pocketed P1.95 million .  

Napoles daughter loses tax appeal

On the other hand, the SC has junked the appeal of Napoles’ daughter on the P17.46-million tax evasion case that was filed against her before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

The CTA Third Division last week received a notice of resolution showing that the High Court denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the camp of Jeane Catherine Napoles.

The case stemmed from Napoles’ supposed tax liabilities when she bought a condominium unit in Los Angeles, California for $1,280,000 (P54.73 million) in July 2011.

She was charged with violating Sections 254 (attempting to evade taxes) and 255 (failure to file an income tax) of the National Internal Revenue Code.

Her lawyer, Lanee David, maintained that their client should not be charged as she did not have any income, and that the condominium that is the subject of the case was only named after her but was actually purchased by her parents.

In a related development, the younger Napoles also filed a civil case against the BIR questioning a tax assessment against her.

The CTA Second Division, which handles the civil case, ordered the bureau to respond to the petition. – With Michael Punongbayan, Janvic Mateo