JPE, Napoles, Reyes to be arraigned Friday

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief-of-staff Jessica “Gigi” Reyes and alleged pork barrel fund scam operator Janet Lim Napoles will be arraigned on plunder and graft charges on Friday.

The Sandiganbayan scheduled the arraignment after the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) returned the warrant of arrest served against the Senator on Monday.

Enrile, Reyes and Napoles will face magistrates of the ant-graft court’s Third Division headed by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang at 8:30 a.m. They will be read the charges and asked to enter a plea.

After the arraignment, the Sandiganbayan will schedule a pre-trail and preliminary conference before a full-blown trial begins.

Enrile and Napoles have filed petitions for bail asking the anti-graft court to grant them temporary liberty while undergoing trial. 

The Sandiganbayan ordered their arrest last Friday after determining that there is probable cause to proceed with the criminal cases filed against them by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Enrile stands accused of pocketing more than P183 million in government funds received allegedly through kickbacks and commissions from Napoles whose bogus non-government organizations received pork barrel funds for ghost projects.