FILE PHOTO: The Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division finds Senator Jinggoy Estrada and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles guilty of plunder in connection with the infamous pork barrel scam in a promulgation on Friday, January 19, 2024. Philippine Daily Inquirer/Niño Jesus Orbeta
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on Friday has acquitted Senator Jinggoy Estrada and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles of plunder in connection with the pork barrel scam.
But Estrada was convicted by the anti-graft court division of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery.
READ: Jinggoy Estrada to remain senator until Sandigan ruling is final – Zubiri
Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s jail sentence
The Sandiganbayan sentenced Estrada to a jail term of eight to nine years for direct bribery and two to three years for each count of indirect bribery.
The senator was also asked to pay a P3 million fine, but since Estrada’s bond for his bail and travel was more than that amount, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division would keep the money for now.
Meanwhile, Napoles, who attended the case promulgation online, was convicted of five counts of corruption of a public official and another two counts for a similar violation. She was sentenced to serve a jail time of eight to nine years per count and was ordered to pay a fine of P29.62 million.
Napoles was further asked to indemnify the government with P262 million and ordered to be censured.
This plunder case against Estrada, Napoles, and others stemmed from transferring Estrada’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel to bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) owned by Napoles.
READ: Jinggoy Estrada says plunder case acquittal ‘a vindication of my name’
Was Sentor Jinggoy Estrada the ‘main plunderer’?
Estrada was charged with plunder for allegedly receiving kickbacks worth P55.79 million from Napoles due to the scheme.
Over the years, there has been a debate about whether Estrada could be considered the “main plunderer” in the case. The Senator, however, asserted that the prosecution could not prove such allegations and failed to substantiate their case against him, as there are supposedly no pieces of evidence pointing to him as the “main plunderer” or the pork barrel scam’s mastermind.
The prosecution accused Estrada of accumulating ill-gotten wealth after he allegedly gained P55.79 million from the shady scheme, aside from being “an active participant in the conspiracy to commit plunder.”
Eventually, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division allowed Estrada and Napoles to file a demurrer to evidence or seek outright dismissal of the cases against them. But these were denied in June 2019, as it was established that he approved the transfer of his PDAF to Napoles’ NGOs.
READ: Sandiganbayan denies Jinggoy’s plea to dismiss plunder case
One of three senators charged
Estrada is one of three senators charged with plunder concerning the pork barrel scam. The two others were incumbent Senator Bong Revilla, who was acquitted in December 2018, and former Senate president and current Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, who is out on bail in consideration of his advanced age.
Estrada, Revilla, and Enrile ran for the Senate in the 2019 midterm elections, but only Revilla won. Estrada again sought a Senate seat in the 2022 polls and succeeded.