MANILA — Chief presidential legal counsel and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile has urged the Sandiganbayan to immediately resolve his motion to dismiss the plunder case against him.

This comes after the anti-graft court’s Third Division ruled on October 13 to resolve his demurrer to evidence “simultaneously or jointly with the main decision after the presentation of evidence for the other accused.”

• Sandiganbayan to resolve Enrile’s demurrer in plunder case
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A demurrer is essentially a motion to dismiss due to insufficiency of prosecution evidence without need for the accused to present defense evidence.

The Sandiganbayan ruling meant Enrile won’t get an early resolution of his motion since his co-accused, Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes and Janet Lim Napoles, would still have to present their evidence.

Enrile, Reyes and Napoles are accused of amassing P172.83 million worth of kickbacks from Enrile’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) funneled through ghost NGOs created by Napoles.

• Napoles, lawmaker acquitted of plunder but convicted for other crimes

In his motion for reconsideration, Enrile said the resolution violates the Constitution as “it does not promote a speedy disposition of cases and it diminishes Enrile’s substantive right to speedy trial.”

His criminal prosecution started on June 5, 2014 and has been pending for more than 9 years, noted the motion for reconsideration dated October 20.

“At every opportunity, Enrile invoked his constitutional right to speedy trial while also reminding this Honorable Court of his vulnerable age as well as that of his counsel. Enrile is 99 years old while the undersigned counsel is 93 years old,” added the motion signed by Enrile’s lawyer, Estelito Mendoza.

The Sandiganbayan’s Internal Rules allow a delayed resolution of the demurrer in cases where there are several accused or if some did not file a demurrer, instead of the 45-day deadline to resolve it.

“[I]nstead of resolving the incident on the ‘Demurrer to Evidence’ in accordance with Rules of Court, the Honorable Court applied the Sandiganbayan Internal Rule without any certainty as to when the other accused might terminate the presentation of their respective defenses, without regard as to the length of time that this case has been pending and without considering as well the age and health of the accused,” the motion said.

It argued the resolution “defeats the purpose of a demurrer to evidence and violates Enrile’s right to speedy trial.”

Enrile filed his demurrer on September 29 praying for his acquittal and the dismissal of the case.

He claimed the evidence of the prosecution “failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the offense of plunder.”

He asserted there was no evidence to prove Napoles or prosecution witness Ruby Tuason gave money to him, nor was there proof to show he endorsed Napoles’ NGOs to different agencies and that he took advantage of his official position to enrich himself at the expense of Filipinos or the Republic.

“The evidence of the prosecution itself negates the presence of overt acts on the part of accused Enrile, and, with respect to him, established instead that no crime has been committed. The accused deserves no less than a speedy vindication,” he said.

ABS-CBN News is still trying to secure the comment of the Office of the Ombudsman to the demurrer to address Enrile’s arguments.

THIRD DIVISION DENIES GIGI REYES’ MR

Unlike Enrile, Reyes has been denied permission to file a similar demurrer to evidence.

On October 17, the Sandiganbayan Third Division also denied her motion for reconsideration, saying no new arguments were raised.

It noted a contradiction in Reyes’ position.

“In her motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence, accused Reyes repeatedly denied the existence of conspiracy as a manner of incurring criminal liability. However, the said accused decried partiality when the Court allowed her purported co-conspirator and co-accused Juan Ponce Enrile to file his demurrer to evidence,” the court said.

“While accused Reyes assails the alleged presence of conspiracy in this case, she now asserts the very same concept of conspiracy in her motion for reconsideration to entitle herself to file the intended demurrer to evidence…,” it added.

The anti-graft court also defended its earlier ruling which did not cite any basis for denying Reyes’ motion. Only full-length decisions, not interlocutory orders, are required to have clear explanations citing the facts and law on which the denial was based, it said.

The court instead directed Reyes to start presenting her evidence on November 7 and 9, 2023.

• Enrile's former aide Gigi Reyes released from jail after almost 9 years
• Enrile freed on bail