Convicted pork barrel queen Janet Lim-Napoles and two former executives of a defunct government-owned and -controlled corporation were cleared of graft and malversation charges involving P5 million in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of an ex-lawmaker.

In a 98-page decision, the Sandiganbayan cited the prosecution’s inability to substantiate the charges against Napoles, National Livelihood Development Council president Gondelina Amata, and NLDC assets management division chief Gregorio Buenaventura.

The three were accused of having a hand in the unlawful transfer of former La Union Rep. Victor Francisco Ortega’s P5-million PDAF in 2009 to the Social Development Program for Farmers Foundation Inc. (SDPFFI), a bogus non-government organization owned by Napoles.

The prosecution alleged that Amata and Buenaventura entered into a memorandum of agreement with SDPFFI — the NLDC’s project partner in the implementation of Ortega’s livelihood project in his district — notwithstanding its questionable credentials.

Of the P5 million, Napoles purportedly took P4.8 million while Amata failed to account for the P150,000 utilized by NLDC as an administration cost.

According to the graft investigators, the PDAF failed to reach the intended beneficiaries because it was pocketed by the three along with their other co-accused.

The prosecution contended that the diversion of Ortega’s pork barrel was tainted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, and/or gross inexcusable negligence.

Non-existent NGO

Further, probers said the NGO was non-existent, citing documents that showed its office address in Laguna instead of La Union, and the intended beneficiaries were fictional.

In its ruling, the Sandiganbayan, however, said “the NGO may have moved or relocated to another office, and the named beneficiaries may have died, moved or relocated to another place making it challenging for the FIO to locate them.”

“Verily, business entities can still exist, and business transactions can still be conducted, albeit illegitimately, even without a valid office address,” the verdict read.

“After a thorough review and evaluation of the documentary and testimonial evidence on record, the court finds no sufficient evidence to hold accused Amata and Buenaventura criminally liable for violation of Section 3(e) of RA No. 3019,” the Sandiganbayan ruled.

The same decision was also applied to Napoles.

“Verily, with the acquittal of the accused public officers, Amata and Buenaventura, there is no public officer whom the accused private individual, Napoles, could have conspired with,” the anti-graft court said.

The Sandiganbayan also ruled that there was no documentary evidence to prove Napoles’s ownership and control over the SDPFFI.

Despite Napoles acquittal, she will remain behind bars for her other graft charges.

Napoles, the central figure in the infamous PDAF scam, faces a variety of charges related to graft, malversation of public funds, and plunder. Known as the “pork barrel” scam, the controversy erupted in 2013, revealing that lawmakers misappropriated billions of pesos intended for development projects.

Funneling of funds

Napoles allegedly masterminded the funneling of funds into fake non-government organizations (NGOs) she controlled. The funds were then shared with complicit public officials, leading to widespread outrage and multiple investigations.

Napoles and several high-ranking politicians were accused of pocketing millions through fraudulent schemes, with some facing criminal charges of graft and plunder. As a result, Napoles was indicted in numerous cases before the Sandiganbayan, the country’s anti-graft court.

In 2015, she was sentenced to life imprisonment for the illegal detention of whistleblower Benhur Luy.

Napoles remains embroiled in multiple legal battles related to the PDAF scam, and the possibility of a full exoneration seems unlikely.

Critics have expressed fear that these dismissals could signal a weakening of efforts to pursue high-profile corruption cases in the Philippines, where impunity among the political elite remains a persistent problem.