SC junks Revilla plea to dismiss plunder case

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday junked the bid of former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. to dismiss the P224-million plunder case stemming from the alleged misuse of his pork barrel fund.

The high court justices voted 13-1 in full session and decided to dismiss the petition filed by Revilla in June 2014 seeking to stop his trial in the Sandiganbayan and dismiss the plunder and graft cases filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman, a court insider revealed to The STAR.

The majority ruling upheld the findings by the anti-graft office of the existence of probable cause in the charges against Revilla, the source said.

This means the trial of the cases will proceed as scheduled next month.

Revilla, along with former senators Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile, are also facing similar charges in connection with the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF).

Revilla and Estrada are still detained while Enrile was granted bail.

The magistrates who voted for the dismissal of the petition were Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza, Bienvenido Reyes, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Marvic Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

The source said only Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. inhibited from the ruling but voted to grant the petition.

Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza, on the other hand, took no part in the voting and inhibited from the case.

Jardeleza handled the case during his stint as solicitor general of the previous administration.

The SC has not released the ruling.

Revilla has another pending petition with the high tribunal, which seeks grant of bail pending trial of the non-bailable plunder charges in the Sandiganbayan.

In the dismissed 81-page petition, Revilla questioned his indictment, claiming his constitutional right to due process was violated.

Revilla specifically asked the SC to declare null and void the ombudsman’s joint resolution in March 2014 finding probable cause in the charges against him and the succeeding resolution in June 2014 denying his appeal.

He argued the ombudsman committed grave abuse of discretion in filing the plunder case without basis.

Revilla cited a ruling of the Sandiganbayan in the case for deposed president Joseph Estrada, which held that the filing of plunder charges requires proof that the accused public officer amassed ill-gotten wealth amounting to at least P50 million.

Revilla said the ombudsman violated his constitutional right to due process when it used statements in the counter-affidavits of the other respondents in pork barrel scam against him without furnishing him copies and giving him opportunity to defend himself.

He claimed there was no independent evidence to prove the existence of conspiracy and the specific acts he allegedly committed.

The Sandiganbayan had already upheld Revilla’s indictment in an earlier ruling.