Court affirms denial of Jinggoy Estrada, Napoles bids for dismissal of plunder case
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2019 10:45:57 +0000
THE Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division stood pat on its ruling that denied the demurrers to evidence of former Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Janet Lim-Napoles in their plunder case in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
“All told, the failure of both accused to present new matters that could warrant the reversal of the Resolution dated June 13, 2019, the Court finds no cogent reason to set aside the same. In view thereof, the Motions for Reconsideration are denied for lack of merit,” the court said in part in a resolution.
A demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss challenging the sufficiency of the evidence presented by the prosecution during trial.
Section 23, Rule 119 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that if a court denies a demurrer which the defendant filed with its permission, he may adduce evidence in his defense. But if the defendant files a demurrer without the court’s permission, he waives his right to present evidence and submits the case for judgment on the basis of the prosecution’s evidence.
The court had granted Estrada and Napoles permission to file the demurrers to evidence. REINA C. TOLENTINO