Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Ejercito Estrada was acquitted of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery following the Sandiganbayan's decision to clear his charges due to lack of evidence.
In the Resolution promulgated on August 22, the court cleared Estrada of his charges after the prosecution failed to present other evidence to prove that money was sent to the senator.
According to the anti-graft court, discrepancies in the amounts could not be explained by the prosecution. It was unclear whether Estrada voluntarily acceded to the transaction between him Pauline Labayen, and Benhur Luy.
Moreover, the prosecution failed to establish the connection between the cash received by Labayen from Janet Napoles, including the deposit made to Estrada's account.
In January this year, the court found Estrada guilty of bribery in connection to his involvement over the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). He motioned for reconsideration. He, along with pork barrel mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, were eventually absolved of plunder.
