A demurrer asks the court to decide if there is enough evidence for the case to move forward. In filing his 115-page demurrer to evidence, Estrada cited a Supreme Court decision that acquitted former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of plunder in 2016. “Based on the evidence on record, this court is convinced that the prosecution presented sufficient evidence, both testimonial and documentary, which established each element of the crime of plunder against the accused,” the court said. Otherwise, the initial evidence presented by the prosecution supported a guilty verdict, it said. “This, if unrebutted by contrary evidence, is sufficient to support a conviction for the crime as charged,” the court said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 14, 2019 21:00 UTC