Senators face arrest as 'pork' cases filed at Sandiganbayan

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday lodged plunder charges against those tagged in the "pork barrel" scam at the Sandiganbayan.

Principal respondents Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. were found to have committed plunder with businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles as co-conspirator. The four were charged for embezzling Priority Development Assistance Funds within the years 2006 and 2010.

The senators, Napoles and their aides were accused of "willfully, unlawfully, and criminally amass, accumulate and/or acquire ill-gotten wealth" through "a combination or series of overt criminal acts."

The Ombudsman's Graft Investigation and Prosecution Office indicated that Revilla pocketed P224.51 million. Estrada, meanwhile, is believed to have amassed P183.79 million, while Enrile earned P172.83 in kickbacks.

Also charged were Revilla's chief-of-staff Richard Cambe, Enrile former aide Jessica "Gigi" Reyes and Estrada's former aid Pauline Labayen.

Private respondents believed to have acted in concert with the primary accused include Napoles' brother Ronald John Lim and purported agent John Raymond de Asis.

Representatives from the Ombudsman's office arrived at the Sandiganbayan at past 3:30 p.m. with boxes purportedly containing evidence to support the charges.

The case is expected to be raffled off next Friday.

The Ombudsman said the cases are only the first batch filed stemming from recommendations and evidence submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation and verified by the Ombudsman's Field Investigation Office.

Napoles is currently detained at Fort Sto. Domingo, Laguna for serious illegal detention charges.