Sandiganbayan denies MR on bail of Enrile

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan on Friday denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile to fix the amount of bail for his temporary liberty after facing plunder which stemmed from his alleged pocketing of P172-million pork barrel funds.

In a 14-page ruling penned by Presiding Justice and Third Division chairman Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, it said that justices have yet to hear and evaluate the evidence that the prosecution team will present against Enrile.

“No amount of legal hermeneutics can justify accused Enrile’s insistence that the court should already grant him bail pending the prosecution’s presentation of its evidence showing proof evident of his guilt,” the ruling read.

Enrile, who is currently detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) General Hospital in Camp Crame, did not touch on his application to post bail.

Also in the same resolution, it junked Enrile’s motion for reconsideration on his petition to dismiss and supplemental opposition to the issuance of warrant of arrest for plunder and 15 counts of graft.

The Sandiganbayan said it would wait for the prosecution to present its evidence which has the burden to prove that they have a strong case against Enrile.

It stressed that the anti-graft court will deny the petition of Enrile if the evidence is strong, but would grant if it is weak because the matter to post bail becomes a matter of right.

“It is only after the prosecution shall have presented its evidence and the court shall have made a determination that the evidence of guilt is not strong against accused Enrile can he demand bail as a matter of right. Then and only then will the court be duty-bound to fix the amount of his bail,” the court said.

“Accused Enrile conveniently overlooks the fact that he is charged with a capital offense; hence, bail as to him isdiscretionary….under the Revised Rules of Court, such discretion is exercisable by the court only after the prosecution presented its evidence in a bail hearing,” it added.

Named as Enrile’s co-accused were his former chief of staff Atty. Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles, Ronald John Lim and John Raymund de Asis.