Manila, Oct. 24 -- The Sandiganbayan Special Third Division has acquitted Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief-of-staff Jessica "Gigi" Reyes, businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and several others on 15 counts of graft over the alleged misuse of PHP172 million of the former lawmaker's Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from 2007 to 2009.

In a 192-page decision Friday, the anti-graft court said the prosecution "failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt."

"Overall, the court finds that the evidence for the prosecution does not pass the test of moral certainty and is insufficient to rebut the constitutional presumption of innocence. Although the acts of the accused public officers...