MANILA, Philippines - Three senators already facing plunder charges were charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan for illegally diverting government funds linked to the "pork barrel" scam.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed multiple counts of graft against senators Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile and other purported cohorts on Monday.
Probable cause was found to charge the senators for violating Section 3e of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The Ombudsman accused the lawmakers of endorsing fraudulent non-government organizations linked to businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles to direct their Priority Development Assistance Funds for their own gain.
The funds were disbursed to implementing agencies for supposed ghost projects under the dummy groups.