Prosecution: Send Revilla, Cambe, Napoles to Camp Bagong Diwa

MANILA, Philippines- Government prosecutors on Monday requested the Sandiganbayan to transfer the detention of Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., his staff Richard Cambe and businesswoman Janet Napoles to Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

In their motion to transfer the place of detention, the Office of the Special Prosecutor asked the 1st Division of the Sandiganbayan, chaired by Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz, to transfer Revilla and Cambe from the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Camp Bagong Diwa.

The state prosecutors also requested the transfer of detention from Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to the BJMP facility in Taguig City.

The three are now facing plunder and graft cases in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

"The prosecution... submits that the accused being detainees should be detained in a BJMP facility just like other detainees. They should not be granted privileges or treatment distinct from all others similarly. For this purpose, the BJMP facility in Camp Bagong Diwa could house all the accused," the motion read.

The government prosecutors noted that the 3rd Division of the Sandiganbayan had earlier ordered the detention of another co-accused in the plunder case against Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, his ex-chief of staff Gigi Reyes, to Camp Bagong Diwa.

"If... Revilla and Cambe are to be continued detained in the PNP Custodial Center, Atty. Reyes's continued detention in a BJMP facility may constitute a violation of her right to equal protection of the law. Since they are all similarly situated, all should be detained in a BJMP facility without any special treatment or favor," the motion added.