The High Court says the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it granted the bail applications of former Masbate congresswoman Rizalina Lanete and Janet Napoles to in relation to their PDAF scam-linked plunder casesand businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles in their plunder cases linked to the Priority Development Assistance or pork barrel scam.
In denying the petition filed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor of the Ombudsman seeking to reverse the anti-graft court’s resolutions, the Court ruled that the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division did not commit any grave abuse of discretion in allowing Lanete and Napoles to post bail. “Failure to reach the said amount is fatal because it is a crucial element in the crime of Plunder. Any proof that there was an accumulation of ill-gotten wealth, but in an amount less than P50,000,000.00, means that the accused committed a crime other than the crime of Plunder,” the SC said.
The SC stressed that the ruling is only on the existence of grave abuse of discretion in relation to the Sandiganbayan’s bail hearings. The OSP may still present evidence to support its plunder case against Lanete and Napoles.