The Sandiganbayan found convicted plunderer Janet Lim Napoles guilty of graft and malversation anew for her involvement in the P20.91 million pork barrel of ex-South Cotabato lawmaker Arthur Pingoy intended for livelihood projects that turned out to be ghost or non-existent.

In a 66-page ruling handed down on Friday, the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division sentenced Napoles to up to 60 years in prison for four counts each of graft and malversation.

Pingoy, however, walked free from the same charges, including direct bribery — notwithstanding whistleblower Benhur Luy's testimony — " for the failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt."

Aside from "pork barrel queen" Napoles, the anti-graft court likewise convicted erstwhile officials of the now-defunct National Agribusiness Corporation Rhodora Mendoza, Maria Ninez Guanizo, Victor Roman Cacal, and Evelyn de Leon of the Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc.

Pingoy, who served three full terms as a member of the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2010 — was accused of funneling his P20.91 million Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel through bogus non-government organizations allegedly governed by Napoles in exchange for kickbacks.

The Ombudsman's probe disclosed that the projects nominated as financial assistance for farm implements, livelihood materials, and training turned out to be "ghost" projects as borne out by the Commission on Audit report and testimonies of the whistleblowers.

The Sandiganbayan, however, ruled that "there is no sufficient evidence" that the erstwhile lawmaker indeed received kickbacks or commissions from Napoles.

PDAF allocated to lawmakers is lump-sum and discriminatory funds intended to empower them "to identify key projects that local government units could not fund."

It was later abolished by the Supreme Court in November 2013 after it became a source of corruption and was declared unconstitutional.

Napoles, the principal suspect in the case, has been detained at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City since 2018 for plunder charges involving the unlawful disbursement of Senator Bong Revilla Jr.'s pork barrel worth P224 million.

She is still facing several graft charges, all related to the pork barrel scam.