Napoles, lawmaker cleared by Sandiganbayan of plunder in 'pork barrel' case

The Sandiganbayan has cleared businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and former APEC party-list lawmaker Edgar Valdez of plunder but convicted them of lesser offense in a "pork barrel" case.

This was due to the prosecution’s failure to prove that the two illegally gained public funds worth at least P50 million, the threshold amount for plunder.

In a 108-page decision, the Sandiganbayan said Napoles and Valdez are only guilty of nine counts of corruption of public official and nine counts of direct bribery, respectively.

The prosecution was only able to prove that Napoles bribed Valdez in the amount of P8,998,800. This was deposited to Valdez’ bank account and reflected in prosecution witness’ Benhur Luy’s summary of “rebates” (kickbacks) as well as bank records of Valdez and Napoles-owned non-government entities.

“After a judicious determination of the  transactions to be included or excluded in the commissions and 'kickbacks' received by accused Valdez in consideration of indorsing the Napoles controlled NGOs as beneficiaries of his PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) allocations in this case, the total amount of the transactions included by the court to have been received  by accused Valdez received as commissions and 'kickbacks' is P8,999,500 million or P8,998,800 million after taking into account the deducted bank transaction fees,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“Since accused Valdez chose not to testify in his own defense, he was not able to explain why these NGOs were transferring money to his bank accounts and his wife’s bank account. Valdez also failed to dispute the categorical assertions of Luy and [prosecution witness and former JLN Corporation employee Marina] Sula that he frequented the JLN office to  discuss PDAF matters and received cash personally handed to him by Luy and/or Napoles,” the Sandiganbayan added.

As a result of her conviction on nine counts of corruption of public officials, the anti-graft court has meted Napoles a jail time of two to six years for each count of conviction or a minimum of 18 years in prision, on top of a fine worth P26,996,700.

Valdez, on the other hand, was sentenced to a jail time of two to six years for each conviction of direct bribery or a minimum of 18 years, also on top of a fine worth P26,996,700 and a penalty of special temporary disqualification.

The prosecution alleged that Valdez and Napoles siphoned off P57 million out of public coffers via Valdez’s PDAF for their own benefit, an amount above the P50 million threshold for plunder.

The Sandiganbayan, however, excluded certain money transfers between Napoles and Valdez due to the following reasons:

• the testimony of Luy, former finance officer of JLN Corporation, that he personally handed over the kickback to Valdez is inconsistent with bank records provided by state-run Anti Money Laundering Council; and
• prosecution’s failure to establish that source NGO was controlled by Napoles or if she is affiliated with it.

“From the above discussion regarding the years which the Court ascertained to be limited to only 2007, 2008, and 2009 and the inclusions/exclusions of the entries in the summary of rebates made by Luy in those specific  years, it is evident that the threshold amount of P50 million necessary to qualify this case as plunder is wanting. [But] as already established in the earlier discussions, the prosecution was able to prove the concurrence of Valdez’s endorsements and receipt of kickbacks from Napoles in at least nine instances from February 2, 2007 to September 24, 2009,” the Sandiganbayan pointed out.

“Hence, accused Valdez should be held liable for nine counts of direct bribery and, consequently, accused Napoles should likewise be liable for nine counts of corruption of public officials. As established by the prosecution’s evidence, Napoles through Luy and her other employees, gave the monies to Valdez in the nine instances, either in cash or bank transfers, using the three NGOs and other entities she controlled and are affiliated with her,” the Sandiganbayan added.

The "pork barrel" or PDAF scheme involves the diversion of lawmakers' PDAF allocations, often intended for livelihood projects, into fake projects and NGOs.

First unveiled by whistleblower Luy, the scam was later validated by a Commission on Audit special report released in August 2013 that detailed ghost recipients, questionable receipts, and suppliers operating without permits.

Senators are entitled to P200 million each in PDAF every year, while members of the House of Representatives can get P70 million each.

In November 2013, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the controversial PDAF. —KG, GMA Integrated News