Gigi Reyes, the former chief-of-staff of now Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, was released from jail on Thursday night, according the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
In an advisory, the BJMP said Reyes was discharged from the Taguig City Jail through a writ of habeas corpus granted by the Supreme Court's (SC) First Division.
"JESSICA LUCILA G. REYES was released from Taguig City Jail Female Dormitory today, 19 January 2023, at around 6:30PM. She was released by virtue of Petition for Habeas Corpus granted in resolution dated 17 January 2023 by the First Division, Supreme Court of the Philippines," the statement read.
Reyes has been detained for nearly nine years for her alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam, in which Enrile allegedly received kickbacks amounting to P172.8 million from the convicted mastermind, Janet Lim Napoles.
The pork barrel scam is a conspiracy where public funds, specifically from the Priority Development Assistance Fund, were funneled to bogus non-government organizations set up or owned by Napoles.
She earlier ran to the high court for the writ of habeas corpus, saying she has been deprived of her constitutional right to due process.
