Lawyer: No proof Jinggoy got P183M

MANILA, Philippines – Graft is one thing, but plunder is another.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s lawyer said that the prosecution will be unable to prove that the opposition senator got P183 million in kickbacks in the pork barrel scam to support the plunder charges against him.

Alexis Abastillas, one of Estrada’s lawyers, said that the Ombudsman came up with the amount by mere computation based on the testimony of principal whistleblower Benhur Luy.

“They based the [P183 million] from the testimony of Benhur that he said 50% of the [pork barrel funds] was given as commission, kickback to the senator. That’s why, they just made their own calculation without any proof, evidence to prove that the [P183 million] was actually given to the senator,” Abastillas said on ANC’s Headstart on Thursday, June 12.

Estrada’s lawyer was referring to the testimony of Luy, the former finance officer of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles. In his affidavits and Senate testimony, Luy said that the scheme benefitted those who split the cost of ghost projects – the lawmaker got 50% of the kickbacks, Napoles got 40%, and implementing agencies cornered 10%.

Yet Abastillas said a mere computation is not enough to prove plunder, a non-bailable crime.

“In plunder, you really have to prove the aggregate amount. It’s one element of the crime: that you amassed at least P50 million and it personally went to you,” she said.

Echoing the privilege speech of her client a day ago, Abastillas said the amounts in Luy’s ledger do not reach P50 million, the threshold for plunder.

Millions in a bag

She also dismissed the testimony of socialite Ruby Tuason, who admitted giving Estrada bags of cash representing his “commissions” from Napoles. Tuason told the Senate in February that she delivered the cash to Estrada in San Juan and in his Senate office using a duffel bag.

“Assuming the testimony of Tuason is credible, how many millions can fit in a duffel bag? It will not even total to P50 million for plunder,” Abastillas said.

“As [for] Senator Jinggoy, I believe his innocence and his conscience is clear,” she added.

Besides plunder, Estrada faces 11 counts of graft for “conspiring in causing undue injury to the government, and “manifest partiality in the selection of the Napoles NGOs.” Graft is a bailable offense.

On Friday, June 6, the Ombudsman charged Estrada, and senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr and Juan Ponce Enrile with plunder before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan. The Ombudsman subsequently filed graft charges against them on Monday, June 9.

The 3 are accused of conniving with Napoles to endorse her dummy non-governmental organizations as recipients of their congressional discretionary funds. In return, they supposedly pocketed millions of pesos in kickbacks.

‘Jinggoy unknowingly endorsed Napoles NGOs’

Abastillas was asked how she could claim her client’s innocence when the Commission on Audit (COA) report showed that Estrada repeatedly endorsed Napoles NGOs from 2007 to 2009.

The lawyer responded that Estrada might have unknowingly chosen the Napoles NGOs as recipients of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Asked why she was unsure, Abastillas said, “Because the NGOs, even if you look at the registration, there is no name of Napoles. He may have endorsed some NGOs which are not knowingly controlled by Napoles.”

Pressed about the admission of Estrada that he and Napoles are friends, Abastillas responded, “They may have associations but it doesn’t mean they were conspiring.”

Abastillas echoed Estrada’s long-time argument that it is the implementing agencies, not the lawmakers, that have the responsibility of accrediting and vetting NGOs. She added that the role of the legislator is “merely recommendatory.”

In a past exchange with Estrada during budget debates at the Senate, COA Chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan said her agency found he did not just endorse the NGOs, but that his staff also signed memoranda of agreement guaranteeing the legitimacy of the Napoles NGOs.

Political

Estrada’s lawyer also echoed claims of the plunder charges being tinged with politics. She reiterated the senator’s argument of “selective justice” against the opposition senators.

“We must not forget that Benhur Luy also mentioned other [lawmakers] so why only the 3 of them now?”

She answered in the affirmative when asked whether or not the administration handpicked the 3 in a bid to “clip the powers” of the opposition.

“Senator Bong is a strong contender for 2016 and Senator Jinggoy for VP. [Senator Enrile], I think because of his influence. In the UNA party, his influence and popularity is very strong with the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.”

Abastillas said that the Estrada camp is now just waiting for the Supreme Court to act on its petition to stop the Ombudsman’s proceedings against him for supposedly violating due process.

Estrada said in his speech Wednesday that the Ombudsman initially refused to give him copies of the counter-affidavits of the other accused, which it used as evidence against him. The Ombudsman finally gave him a copy a day after he raised the issue with the High Court. – Rappler.com