The acquittal of those accused of corruption over the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) highlights corruption impunity in government, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) said.
In a quick reaction to Sandiganbayan’s acquittal of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief-of-staff Jessica Lucuila “Gigi” Reyes, and pork barrel operator Janet Lim Napoles is a grim reminder of how the justice system shields the rich and powerful, the group said.
“Puro acquittal, walang napapanagot na matataas na opisyal,” BAYAN fumed, adding bigger and sustained protests are needed to pursue accountability and justice.
The Sandiganbayan Special Third Division unanimously said the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt that the 101 year old Enrile conspired with Reyes and Napoles to amass P172.83 million in kickbacks from his pork barrel.
It added that there was “no civil liability imposed upon Enrile,” saying however that Napoles is civilly liable and ordering her to return millions of pesos to the Bureau of Treasury.
Napoles is already in prison for earlier convictions connected with the PDAF scandal.
The case stemmed from a 2015 case filed by former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales accusing the three of conspiring to skim from the Enrile’s PDAF as senator.
BAYAN said the acquittal highlights the continuing corruption and impunity that has enabled politicians and corrupt bureaucrats to steal from the national coffers without fear of being held accountable for their crimes.
“It is infuriating that not a single politician has been convicted in relation to the pork barrel scam involving Napoles. It is unacceptable that only corrupt contractors like her face imprisonment but not the masterminds and their accomplices in government,” BAYAN said.
The country’s biggest group of activists likened the so-called Napoles scam to the flood control anomaly controversy where politicians are being accused of conspiring with contractors to steal billions of pesos of public funds.
Enrile and company’s acquittal is deeply unjust and an insult to ordinary Filipinos who suffer everyday from the scourge of corruption and impunity, the group said.
BAYAN called for more and bigger protest actions against government corruption, including the Enrile and company’s acquittal by the Sandiganbayan.
“More protests are needed to push for accountability and the dismantling of bureaucrat capitalism which preserves and advances the interests of political dynasties, their cronies, oligarchs, and foreign powers,” BAYAN said.
“Let us show that the people are more determined and powerful in exacting accountability, pursuing justice, and defeating the corrupt in government,” it added. | via KODAO PRODUCTIONS
