Napoles found guilty of graft, malversation in multi-billion peso scam

The Sandiganbayan, a special anti-graft court in the Philippines, has found Janet Lim Napoles guilty of graft and malversation of public funds. The conviction stems from her involvement in ghost projects that allegedly siphoned funds from the Department of Agrarian Reform. According to a GMA News report by Maki Pulido, the Sandiganbayan's 6th Division sentenced Napoles to 12 to 15 years of imprisonment for each of the 10 counts of graft. For the 10 counts of malversation, she received a sentence of 17 to 20 years imprisonment for each count. Additionally, Napoles was ordered to pay a fine of P5 million for each count. Napoles attended the hearing via partial video conference from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. In the same case, Evelyn de Leon, a former employee of Napoles, was also found guilty of three counts of graft and malversation. She was sentenced to 14 to 19 years of imprisonment for each count. Furthermore, former DAR Undersecretary Gerry Pacturan was sentenced to 14 to 19 years for 10 counts of malversation and fined P5 million for each count. He was acquitted of the graft charges. This verdict marks a significant development in the Philippines' long-standing fight against corruption, though many other cases involving Napoles are still pending, suggesting the legal battle and pursuit of accountability will continue.