The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division on Friday handed down a landmark conviction against businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Undersecretary Jerry Pacturan, finding them guilty of malversation of public funds in connection with ₱50 million worth of “ghost” farm projects across Luzon.
Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez, delivering the ruling, said the court found “a deliberate scheme to divert government resources through falsified documents and fabricated endorsements.”
Napoles, long linked to high-profile corruption scandals, was convicted on 10 counts of malversation and 10 counts of graft. She faces up to 20 years in prison for each malversation charge and up to 15 years for each graft case.
Pacturan, who signed memoranda of agreement with local government units (LGUs) and NGOs tied to Napoles, was sentenced to a maximum of 19 years, 1 month, and 11 days for each of the 10 malversation counts, though acquitted of graft due to insufficient evidence.
Prosecutors argued that Pacturan’s 2011 agreements with 10 LGUs and NGOs were designed to funnel ₱5 million per LGU for farm inputs that never materialized.
Witnesses from the LGUs testified that no deliveries were made, while eight mayors from Bulacan, Batangas, Pangasinan, and Quezon told the court their signatures on funding requests were forged.
The court clarified that the funds were not part of the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), but were drawn from DAR’s regular budget.
Napoles and Pacturan were ordered to reimburse ₱50 million to the National Treasury, with Pacturan given five days to post a surety bond for provisional liberty while pursuing post-conviction remedies.
Napoles attended the promulgation via teleconference, while Pacturan was physically present in court. # (RRN)
