“It is only after the prosecution shall have presented its evidence and the court shall have made a determination that the evidence of guilt is not strong that Lanete [ask the court] to fix the amount of bail. Until then, the court is not duty-bound to accede to Lanete’s prayer,” the prosecutors said.
In the same comment-opposition, the prosecutors also reminded the court of the criminal information filed against Lanete, and that even prior to a bail hearing, the evidence presented by the Commission on Audit against the former lawmaker appears to be strong.
“A very strong case against the accused exists warranting the denial of her prayer that she be freed on bail,” government lawyers said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors noted that the severity of the potential penalty of the crime of plunder automatically makes Lanete a flight risk, despite her claims otherwise.
“Contrary to the accused’s contention that she is not a flight risk, the severity of the penalty of reclusion perpetua for plunder provides her a great incentive to flee,” they added.
Lanete was among the second batch of lawmakers recently charged by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan for their alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.
The other lawmakers were former Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa, former Cagayan De Oro Rep. Constantino Jaraulla, former Agusan Del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza and former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) party-list Rep. Edgar Valdez.
Based on the complaint of the Ombudsman, Lanete allegedly received P108.4 million-worth of kickbacks for allowing the allocation of her Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel to fake non-government organizations (NGOs) allegedly owned by Napoles.
The Ombudsman said P112.29 million of Lanete’s PDAF during her term as Masbate representative was allocated to the Napoles-linked NGOs from 2007 to 2009.
In her earlier motion seeking bail, Lanete said the anti-graft court should allow her her Constitutional right to post bail as it is not yet proven that the evidence against her is strong. Lanete also maintained that she has no intention of fleeing the country. — Patricia Denise Chiu/BM, GMA News
