Jinggoy Estrada seeks dismissal of plunder case
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2019 11:22:21 +0000
FORMER senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada is asking the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division to dismiss the P183-million plunder case he is facing in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.
“In the instant case, the Prosecution has utterly failed to prove the gravamen of the offense, having failed to establish that [former] Sen. Estrada received the amount alleged in the Information (charge sheet) or that he had amassed, accumulated, and acquired ill-gotten wealth as alleged in the Information in the amount of at least Fifty Million Pesos,” the defense said in part in a demurrer to evidence, referring to the threshold amount for plunder.
“Otherwise put, the Prosecution failed to establish that any of the supposed rebates, commissions, or kickbacks, or any of the funds arising from the PDAF projects, were actually delivered to or received by [former] Sen. Estrada,” it said on Thursday.
A demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss challenging the sufficiency of the evidence presented by the prosecution during trial. If a court denies a demurrer which the defendant filed with its permission, he may present evidence in his defense.
“Accordingly, as the Prosecution’s evidence adduced during trial do not amount to proof beyond reasonable doubt, [former] Sen. Estrada is by law entitled to an acquittal and it is this Honorable Court’s constitutional duty to acquit him,” the defense said. REINA C. TOLENTINO
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