Janet Lim Napoles, a Filipino businesswoman and politician, is now facing over 60 years of imprisonment after she was found guilty of eight graft and malversation charges.
Aside from this, Napoles was also ordered to pay over P240 million in relation to the eight corruption charges she faces. Here are the other details you need to know.
Philippines: Napoles Found Guilty of Graft, Malversation
According to Incquirer.Net's latest report, Napoles, along with some Nabcor officials, were found guilty of four counts of corruption and public fund malversation charges.
The Nabcor officials that were also found guilty are specifically Victor Cacal, Maria Ninez Guanizo, and Rhodora Mendoza.
"The court finds accused Rhodora B. Mendoza, Maria Ninez P. Guanizo, Victor Roman C. Cacal, and Janet L. Napoles guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019," said the Special Second Division of the Sandiganbayan on Friday, Oct. 20.
ABS CBN News reported that each of the charges Napoles faces leads to 6 to 10 years of imprisonment. In total, she could be jailed for 60 or up to 100 years.
While Napoles and other officials were involved in the controversial PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scam, aka Pork Barrel scam, former South Cotabato 2nd District Rep. Arthur Pingoy was lucky enough to be cleared from his cases.
Pingoy, as well as ex-Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, were acquitted after the prosecution wasn't able to provide enough proof that they were guilty.
What Filipinos Say About Napoles' Imprisonment
Many Filipinos were relieved that Janet Napoles was finally found guilty. Some of them said that the Sandiganbayan made the correct choice.
However, some Philippine citizens were not satisfied since other involved Filipino officials are still at large; and some of them are even working at the Senate right now.
They are referring to Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Juan Ponce Enrile. Because of this, the credibility of the Philippine justice system is still criticized.
Meanwhile, other Filipino residents are mentioning Imelda Marcos, who was also convicted of graft, saying that she should be the next one to be imprisoned.
These are just some of the comments made by Filipinos about the latest Napoles Pork Barrel Scam update. You can click here to see more.
