Ombudsman to appeal SC decision on Enrile bail plea

The Office of the Ombudsman is set to file a motion for reconsideration on the Supreme Court decision granting bail to Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile for his plunder case in connection with the alleged pork barrel scam.

“We are about to file a motion for reconsideration on the Supreme Court decision granting bail to Senator Enrile," Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales told lawmakers Tuesday at the hearing on her office’s proposed P1.775-billion budget for 2016 at the House of Representatives.

She did not mention any date, and also refused to comment on the insinuation that the SC’s favorable decision on Enrile’s bail plea will have a negative effect on the pending plunder cases her office has investigated, citing the sub judice rule.

Voting 8-4, the SC granted Enrile's petition to post bail, citing his health and advanced age. The court set the bail bond at P1.4 million.

The 91-year-old senator is facing graft and plunder charges in connection with a supposed scam involving the misuse of millions of pesos worth in his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, through the use of bogus non-government organizations.

Prior to posting bail, Enrile was under hospital detention at the Philippine National Police General Hospital in Camp Crame. —KBK, GMA News