(Eagle News) — Alleged pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim Napoles has again asked the Supreme Court that she be allowed provisional liberty while standing trial for plunder before the Sandiganbayan.
In asking for the same in her Feb 13 supplemental petition for bail in the plunder case with co-accused Bong Revilla, Napoles invoked the so-called Arroyo doctrine that enabled the acquittal of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for plunder over the allegedly anomalous disbursement of P366 million worth of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds.
In that case, Arroyo had argued that the charge sheet failed to identify the “main plunderer” and as such, she could not be charged.
“..The situation is even worse for the respondent Office of the Ombudsman as the conspiracy, alleged in the information and pointed to by the evidenced adduced by the respondent, is geared towards helping petitioner Napoles, a private individual, not a public officer, misappropriate the (Priority Development Assistance Fund) proceeds for her personal gain,” Napoles argued.
She said “the only link connecting the petitioner to the whole (PDAF) controversy and this case is the testimony of Benhur Luy, which was declared not credible by the Court of Appeals (CA) in the illegal detention case,” Napoles said, referring to the serious illegal detention case filed against her by Luy, her relative.
Napoles had used this same argument to argue for her petition for bail related to another plunder case, this time involving former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.
That petition, however, was junked by the Supreme Court in November 2017.
“The petitioner humbly begs this Honorable Court to take another look and reevaluate her right to bail, considering that the facts charged in the Information and supported by the evidence presented, do not constitute a violation of the provisions of RA 7080 (plunder) in light of the Macapagal Arroyo Supreme Court ruling,” Napoles said.
“Moreover, the Court of Appeals already made a pronouncement that Luy could not be riled on as a credible witness,” she added.
Napoles is facing a separate plunder case in connection with the pork barrel scam, this time with former Senator Jinggoy Estrada as co-accused.
