Bong skips start of plunder trial

MANILA, Philippines - The plunder trial of former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. formally began yesterday after more than three years since the case was filed.

The former senator, however, was absent during the proceedings as he has been in a hospital since Tuesday due to hypertension.

In a letter sent to the Sandiganbayan’s First Division, Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Service Unit chief Superintendent Arnel Apud said Revilla complained of difficulty in breathing and dizziness while he was at St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig to visit his father, who had just undergone a heart procedure.

Apud reported that the medical examinations done on Revilla show that the senator was suffering from early onset of hypertension as well as high blood levels of lipoprotein and uric acid.

Apud reported that SLMC attending physician Ruth Marie Divinagracia said it is necessary to confine Revilla.

Apud said that under the PNP Manual of Operations, “emergency situations” are exempted from the rule of mandatory prior court approval for the movement of an accused outside the PNP Custodial Center.

Revilla is facing plunder before the Sandiganbayan First Division.

He is accused of receiving P224.5-million worth of kickbacks from the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in exchange for allocating his PDAF to the latter’s supposed fake non-government organizations.