The Sandiganbayan has sentenced businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, together with Gondelina Amata, the former president of the defunct state-owned firm National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC), and Michael Lim Benjamin, the former chief political officer of former senator Gregorio Honasan II, to up to 68 years in prison in connection with the alleged misuse of the latter’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
In a decision promulgated yesterday, the anti-graft court’s Third Division found Napoles, Amata and Benjamin guilty of one count each of violation of Section (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, one count each of malversation of public funds and three counts each of the complex crime of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents.
For the graft offense they were sentenced to six up to 10 years imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office.
For the malversation offense, they were sentenced to imprisonment of 12 up to 17 years and four months.
While for the two counts of malversation through falsification, they were sentenced to six up to 12 years for each count and 12 up to 17 years for the third count.
They, however, would not have to actually serve the total period of their sentence behind bars, as the country’s penal justice system limits maximum imprisonment for a felony to only 40 years.
Napoles, Amata and Benjamin were also ordered to each pay a fine totaling P15 million. The court said this was on top of another P15 million that they must jointly pay the government as their civil liability.
The civil liability shall incur an interest of six percent per annum to be reckoned from the finality of the decision until full payment.
The decision was penned by Third Division chairperson Associate Justice Ronald Moreno with the concurrence of Associate Justices Kevin Narce Vivero and Edgardo Caldona.
Napoles attended via online video conference from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong where she is currently detained for her conviction of plunder in connection with the misuse of the PDAF of former senator Bong Revilla.
Lawyers of Amata and Benjamin, meanwhile, manifested before the court that they will be filing their respective motions for reconsideration.
The Third Division, upon the motion of both lawyers and without objection from the prosecution panel, allowed Amata and Benjamin to no longer double the amount of the bail bond they previously posted in order to continue enjoying their provisional liberty while the decision is under appeal.
Amata and Benjamin each posted P510,000 bail bond when the cases were filed in 2022.
The Third Division has yet to release the copy of the decision as of yesterday afternoon.
The cases stemmed from the allocation of a total of P29.1 million in PDAF of Honasan in 2009 to 2010 to dubious non-government organization Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation, Inc. (AEPFFI), allegedly owned by Napoles. Honasan was not charged in the cases.