MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan again junked the motion for temporary release of Jessica Lucila Reyes, the former chief of staff of former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who is detained due to a plunder case related to the pork barrel scam.
Enrile and Reyes were accused before the court of receiving P172 million worth of kickbacks from Janet Lim Napoles.
Napoles was the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, or the use of bogus nongovernment organizations to funnel the Priority Development Assistance Fund of lawmakers.
Enrile, now 96, was allowed in 2015 to post bail due to his advanced age and health condition. —NIKKA G. VALENZUELA