OSG seeks Napoles acquittal
T
of Appeals a “manifestation in Napoles’ acquittal.
The case stemmed from the complaint of Benhur Luy, who said he was illegally detained by March 2013. Napoles is serving her life sentence at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
Five legal experts inside and outside government said that while Napoles’ case may not for now have a direct impact on the pork-barrel cases pending before the Sandiganbayan, questions may be raised about the integrity of Luy’s testimonies in the illegal detention case, and against Napoles.The question asked of the - tion forged a modus vivendi with reasons and purposes?The lawyers were unanimous about one thing: That the OSG’s manifestation heralds a policy shift in how the deal with Napoles, Luy, other state witnesses, and the lawmakers who had been indicted in the plunder cases involving the misuse of pork barrel funds now pending trial before the Sandiganbayan.
Three former senators are facing plunder charges for the alleged misuse of their pork-barrel funds using the fake NGOs of
- edly in exchange for fat kickbacks Commented one of the lawyers: “The SolGen has taken positions before against the state, but often in minor cases, criminal and civil. This one is unusual because the SolGen has taken the side of the appellant, and against state witnesses in the pork barrel cases. This makes the SolGen manifestend to favor the SolGen in cases relevant senior officials in the Office of the Ombudsman, the knew nothing about the OSG’s manifestation and described the
Court erred
Wednesday insisted that the trial court erred in convicting Napoles.
“It is my well-considered opinion and that of my assistants conference in Makati City. do kidnappinghe “The‘No said. with liberty Presidentthe reviewcase. deprived’Thedoesof the not Napolesinstruct OSG’s 11, dated 2017 Sept. was 20, apparently2016 where triggered“the appellantment that the reiterated essential her element arguof deprivation of liberty is absent examining anew the evidence presented by both the prosecution
- dence presented does not support beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant committed the crime also explained why the Solicitor General was now disfavoring state witness Luy in the illegal detention Solicitor General shares in the task and responsibility of dispensing is similarly a servant of the law, the two-fold aim of which is that guilt shall not escape or the innocent
Filed, refiled
Branch 150 sentenced Napoles after a two- year trial. Napoles later raised her case to the 13th and submitted her reply brief on September 20, 2016. In less than four months, the OSG – which receives an average of about 30,000 appeals on criminal cases a year acquittal.Among other things, the a special panel of prosecutors from had recommended the dismissal of the Luy’s complaint. The panel, after two months of investigation, reportedly found that Luy had retreat house. Alameda, in his ruling on the case, had said the prosecution was able to establish that Napoles ordered Luy’s detention when she discovered that he had started to transact business with certain lawmakers using her business model.According to Luy, had kept him at Bahay ni San Magallanes Village, Makati City, occupied by priests, and then at City, where the Napoles family resides.Luy’s rescue by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation Napoles’s posh residence in Taguig in March 2013 paved the way for an investigation of the use of fake barrel funds of certain legislators. Benhur’s conductThe NBI and Luy filed a serious illegal detention case against Napoles and Lim in March 2013, but as the OSG pointed out in its recent manifes three months later. The NBI then Aug. 13, 2013 the case of serious illegal detention against Napoles and Lim. This in turn prompted the issuance of warrants of arrest against the two. But in its manifestation for Napoles’s acquittal in the serious illegal detention said, “The conduct and behavior of Benhur Luy during the period of his alleged detention belie the fact that he was detained or deprived of his the trial court in its April 14, 2015 - ous businesswoman’s case at a that while some lawmakers had been indicted in the Napoles-led pork-barrel scam in 2013, it was “not enough vindication for the media reports quoted the President as saying. “There are a lot of billions and billions of pesos lost. several lawmakers inside but only because the charge, the accusation some revealing things to tell you if that is the only thing that I have to do until the end of my term, I will do it, for I shall have done a singular task, giving you the truth about the deserves a second look for it also
Impact on pork cases?For sure, the OSG is now giving the case the OSG’s manifestation, one of remarked, “This is dangerous because of the indirect impact on since Benhur talked because he was supposedly being detained illegally. This is not enough, of course, to set Napoles free, but doubt has been cast on the credibility of Benhur. Still, the illegal detention happened after Benhur acquired info on the pork transactions, so he can insist on his credibility about these matters. The problem is, public perception could turn against him because who had been part of the COA cases agreed with this view, noting, “Benhur gave a lot of documents kasi. Certainly, the indirect impact of this is to question his credibility, and that of the other witnesses. That might be the point of this said, “A manifestation, from a lawyer’s point of view, does not always overturn or affect the court’s decision. This can be appealed to lawyer – a government prosecutor – predicted that even with the - ecutor added, “There was a time she wanted to tell all. Maybe that is the modus vivendi, for her to tell -