MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Convicted pork barrel scammer Janet Lim Napoles was freed from 16 cases of graft raps relating to the pork barrel scam which involved Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

The country’s anti-graft court, the Sandiganbayan, has free’d Janet Lim-Napoles on 16 cases involving the pork barrel scam due to insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in terms of violation of Republic Act No. 3019.

Although she was acquitted, Napoles will stay in detention because of her conviction with other cases relating to the controversial development assistance fund of PDAF.

The case started from accusations that Revilla siphoned out P224 million of the Priority Development Assistance Fund to a fake non-government organization that was owned by Napoles.

Senator Revilla was also acquitted in the same cases in 2021, similarly due to the reason of having insufficient evidence. 

BREAKING. Sandiganbayan, the country's anti-graft court, acquits Janet Lim-Napoles in 16 cases involving the pork barrel scam.

The court finds Napoles not guilty because the allegations were already predicate in the charge where she was previously convicted. @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/pvFNcoNiOq

— Jairo Bolledo (@jairojourno) May 22, 2023

“Finding Janet Lim Napoles NOT GUILTY in Criminal Case Nos. SB-14-CRM-0267 to 0282 for the failure of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt in all the sixteen (16) charges of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as amended,” the court stated in the ruling publicly on Monday, May 22.

The court also explains the allegations against Napoles in cases where she was acquitted were crimes of plunder in the Ramon Revilla Jr. case. She has been acquitted of predicate crimes meaning the crime was a component of a larger crime. — WhatALife!/Zain

Source: (1), (2)

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