A former “incorporator” of a dubious non-governmental organization previously run by convicted businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles has been acquitted of graft charges involving the pork barrel funds of the late senator Juan Ponce Enrile after the Sandiganbayan found her signature was forged. 

In a 20-page decision dated 19 December but released only on Wednesday, 7 January, the anti-graft court found Amparo Fernando “not guilty of the charges against her for failure of the prosecution to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”

Fernando was charged with five counts of graft, and among the private individuals named as co-accused of Enrile, Napoles, Gigi Reyes—the senator’s then chief of staff—and several others from the Department of Budget and Management, now-defunct Technology Resource Center, and fake NGOs linked to Napoles. 

On 24 October last year, the Sandiganbayan acquitted Enrile, Napoles, Reyes, and their co-accused of 15 counts of graft, while the cases for several others, including Fernando, were ordered archived as they remain at large. 

Almost three weeks later, Fernando was arrested on 11 November. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment on 5 December.

Court records showed that out of Enrile’s P172.8 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel funds from 2004 to 2010, P20 million was channeled to the Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic and Development Foundation Inc. (CARED).

CARED was among the many dummy NGOs run by Napoles, where lawmakers funnelled their PDAF in exchange for kickbacks. They were supposed to implement the pet projects of legislators, but investigations revealed they were “ghost” or non-existent.

A witness by the prosecution, namely Marina Sula, told the Sandiganbayan that it was her who affixed Fernando’s signature as one of the incorporators of CARED in the Certificate of Incorporators submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sula said Fernando was unaware of her inclusion as an incorporator of CARED in the corporate documents.

Sula’s testimony, according to the court, is consistent with the previous testimony of whistleblower Benhur Luy, Napoles’ trusted cousin and financial officer. 

Luy earlier told the court that some incorporators of the involved NGOs had no knowledge that their names had been listed in corporate documents.

In exonerating Fernando, the Sandiganbayan ruled that there is no evidence to establish that she was part of the scheme to defraud the government, other than her fake inclusion as an incorporator of CARED.

“Absent proof of accused Fernando's participation in the crimes charged, the court deems it unnecessary to determine the existence of the elements of violation of Section 3(e) of RA No. 3019,” the court said. “Therefore, there can be no verdict of guilt against accused Fernando.”

Thus, no civil liability was imposed against Fernando. The court also ordered the return of the bail posted by Fernando, and the hold departure order against her lifted.