Janet Lim-Napoles, a Filipino businesswoman who became infamous for her involvement in the Philippine pork barrel scam, where public funds were allegedly siphoned off for personal gain. The photo was taken during her arrest in 2013. (Photo source: PNP-CIDG).

MANILA –  Janet Lim-Napoles, long associated with the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam, has been sentenced again by the Sandiganbayan. She received a combined 55 years in prison for misusing ₱7.55 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations tied to then Davao del Sur Representative Marc Douglas Cagas IV.

The anti-graft court found Napoles guilty of two counts of graft and two counts of malversation, and ordered her to pay fines equal to the amounts misused plus civil indemnities with legal interest. Convicted with her were former Technology Resource Center officials Dennis Cunanan and Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, and former NABCOR official Rhodora Mendoza. Napoles remains detained at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, serving multiple sentences while appealing.

Cagas’s PDAF liability addressed in earlier plea bargain

The PDAF allocations at the center of this case were linked to Cagas’s congressional term. In 2022, he entered a plea bargain, pleaded guilty to lesser offenses including fraud, failure to render accounts, and falsification of public documents, and paid ₱12.95 million in restitution. He was placed on probation instead of serving prison time, which cleared him from further liability. Because of this deal, he was not a defendant in the 2025 Napoles ruling. Today, Cagas serves as the Vice Governor of Davao del Sur.

Other convictions in 2025

The August conviction is Napoles’s third this year.

• June 6 — Mamfi case (₱1.17M): Napoles, Cunanan, Lacsamana, and Napoles aide Evelyn de Leon were convicted of graft for diverting PDAF from then-CIBAC Rep. Joel Villanueva to the bogus NGO Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. They were sentenced to up to 10 years, ordered to reimburse the government, and barred from office. They were acquitted of malversation. Villanueva was not a defendant in the case but faces separate pending Sandiganbayan charges from his 2008 term, including two counts of graft and one count of malversation through falsification. In 2016, the Ombudsman ordered his dismissal from public service, which the Senate did not enforce. He was elected Senate Majority Leader on July 28, 2025.
• May 30 — Biazon case (₱2.7M): Napoles and Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon were convicted of graft for channeling PDAF to the NGO Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. They were sentenced to 6 years and 1 month to 8 years in prison and disqualified from office. Malversation and bribery charges were dismissed.Biazon has filed a motion for reconsideration; the conviction is not final, allowing him to continue as mayor while on appeal.

Broader backdrop

Napoles, often dubbed the “Pork Barrel Queen”, rose to notoriety in 2013 after whistleblower Benhur Luy exposed how her NGOs siphoned billions in PDAF into ghost projects. The Supreme Court later struck down PDAF as unconstitutional, triggering dozens of graft and plunder cases.

Other notable outcomes:

• Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.: Acquitted of plunder in 2018 while Napoles and his aide Richard Cambe were convicted and sentenced to reclusión perpetua (20–40 years without parole). Revilla’s 16 graft cases were dismissed in 2021. He lost reelection in 2025 and is no longer in office.
• Juan Ponce Enrile: His 2024 plunder acquittal was upheld in June 2025.
• Jinggoy Estrada: Acquitted of plunder in 2021 and bribery in 2024, but still on trial for 11 graft counts after the Sandiganbayan denied his motion to dismiss in April 2025. He currently serves as Senate President Pro Tempore.
• Fertilizer Fund scam: Napoles and others were cleared in 2023 due to inordinate delay.
• Money laundering (2024): Napoles was convicted by Manila RTC Branch 24 of laundering PDAF proceeds, sentenced to 7–14 years in prison, and fined ₱16 million.

How long will Napoles serve?

Napoles now faces cumulative sentences from multiple cases that, if added up, exceed 150 years. This includes the 2018 plunder conviction with reclusión perpetua (20–40 years), the 2024 money laundering conviction (7–14 years), and several graft and malversation rulings in 2025, including the latest 55-year term.

However, under Philippine law, the Revised Penal Code caps imprisonment at 40 years regardless of the total length of penalties (Article 70, the “threefold rule”). This means that even with decades of convictions, Napoles will serve a maximum of 40 years in prison, though her civil liabilities and fines remain enforceable.

Significance of the ruling

The August 22, 2025 conviction adds 55 years to Napoles’s string of prison sentences and marks her third guilty verdict this year. Alongside earlier convictions, acquittals, and plea bargains involving other high-profile figures, it reinforces the enduring legacy of the pork barrel scandal. More than a decade after PDAF was struck down as unconstitutional, the case continues to shape Philippine politics and underscores both the progress and the limits of accountability in the country’s justice system.