Sandigan junks Napoles bid to suspend presentation of evidence

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the petition of detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles to suspend the presentation of her counter-evidence for her plunder case over the pork barrel fund scam.

In a resolution promulgated on Sept. 2, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division said Napoles failed to present any new valid argument to convince the magistrates to grant her motion for the submission of a Memorandum of Authority by the ombudsman’s prosecution panel.

In her motion filed last month, Napoles, through her new set of lawyers, said the prosecution should explain the supposed “void” charge sheet it filed against her in June 2014.

Napoles said this would guide the court in resolving her appeal for the grant of a demurrer to evidence, which prayed for the dismissal of the case.

She said compelling her to present her defense at this stage of the proceeding, when the sufficiency of the charge sheet is still in question, would violate her constitutional right to due process.

The Fifth Division, in denying her motion, maintained that it has repeatedly affirmed the validity of the charge sheet against Napoles and her co-accused, former senator Jinggoy Estrada.

“The questions raised in the present motion are matters already passed upon by the court in its previous resolutions, thus there is no necessity in granting the same. The constitutional rights of herein accused may well be exercised during the presentation of her evidence,” the ruling read.

The court found no merit in Napoles’ argument that the case is fatally defective as the prosecution failed to identify on the charge sheet who among the accused, including her, her bodyguard John Raymund de Asis, Estrada and his former deputy chief of staff Pauline Labayen, was the “main plunderer” in the case.

“The eyes are useless when the mind is blind. It is apparent that the information refers to Estrada as the mastermind of the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scheme or the main plunderer,” the Fifth Division said.