The incumbent senator said the court’s decision only proves that the corruption allegations against him are baseless, adding he can now work in the Congress “free of nuisance.”
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 5) — Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla has scored a victory after the Sandiganbayan cleared him of graft charges stemming from the infamous pork barrel scam case.
“The Sandiganbayan, by granting our Demurrer to Evidence and dismissing all the charges against me, validates what we have known from the very beginning — that all the accusations against me have no basis and any leg to stand on…,” he said in a statemet. “I am not, and never have been involved in graft and corruption.”
“This is the reason why I did not run; I did not hide; and did not evade the judicial system,” he added.
In the 196-page decision penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Econg released on Monday, the anti-graft court’s First Division acquitted Revilla on 16 counts of graft for allegedly diverting his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to bogus nongovernment organizations controlled by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.
It granted his demurrer to evidence — an option given to the accused to seek dismissal of a case for lack of evidence halfway through the trial. The court said the cases against him were dismissed “on the ground of insufficiency of evidence against him.”
“The bonds posted by accused Revilla are hereby ordered released,” the decision dissented by First Division Chairman Efren dela Cruz and Associate Justice Bayani Jacinto read.
The same court acquitted Revilla of plunder in 2018. He had to pay P480,000 in bail for his graft charges so he can finally be released from detention after four years.
Despite his plunder acquittal, he was ordered to return P124.5 million to the national treasury, but his camp continues to contest it.
Meanwhile, the graft case against Napoles — dubbed as the pork barrel scam mastermind — will continue after her demurrer to evidence was denied.
The graft charges against Revilla’s former aide, Richard Cambe, who was previously convicted of plunder, were dismissed following his death in April.
