While she accepts the Sandiganbayan decision to clear Sen. Jinggoy Estrada of plunder charges, former Sen. Leila de Lima said there is still a chance for the Supreme Court (SC) to modify this ruling should the accused appeal his conviction for three counts of bribery.
In a statement sent to the media Friday, Jan. 19, De Lima conveyed she is taking this development with curiosity and respect. She was convinced the special task force of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had a strong plunder case against Estrada.
De Lima was commenting on the issue from her perspective as former Justice Secretary, who filed the cases of plunder and malversation of public funds against businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, Estrada, and other legislators over their involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
“I’m curious to find out what element or elements of the crime of plunder the Sandiganbayan deemed wanting and/or why evidence was deemed insufficient to support conviction for that crime,” De Lima stated shortly after the Sandiganbayan released its decision.
“I believe that we had a strong case against Sen. Jinggoy when the DOJ-NBI Special Task Force filed the plunder complaint against him with the Ombudsman,” she added, citing statements made by middlewoman Ruby Tuason, who was among the state witnesses that testified against Estrada.
“(Tuason) said she dealt directly with the senator (Estrada) and Napoles insofar as his PDAF funds were concerned,” according to De Lima. “Even Benhur Luy stated he personally delivered Jinggoy’s kickbacks to his secretary, Pauline Labayen, who had since then gone missing,” she added.
Luy was the principal whistleblower in the ‘pork barrel’ scam, who also turned state witness. He was working for Napoles, who gained notoriety in public as the one who orchestrated the graft-ridden PDAF system through her bogus non-government organizations (NGOs).
Regardless, De Lima said she “accepts the decision of the Sandiganbayan limiting the conviction to bribery and indirect bribery” against Estrada. She noted, however, that she has yet to read the 396-page ruling of the anti-graft court in its entirety.
“If Sen. Jinggoy appeals this conviction, there is still a chance that the SC will modify this judgment to either an acquittal, on one hand, or a plunder conviction, on the other. Of course, I have yet to read the decision to find out whether Sen. Jinggoy risks a plunder conviction with the SC if he still appeals the SB decision convicting him only of bribery,” De Lima said.
“I am sure that is what his lawyers are already studying at this very moment. Because once they appeal to the SC, the [Sandiganbayan] judgment is opened wide for modifications, including a conviction for plunder, without violating the rule on double jeopardy,” the former senator and DOJ chief added.