Palace bows to Sandiganbayan decision on Bong Revilla case

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte’s administration will be careful in its use of discretionary funds in the national budget so it would not be accused of corruption.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo made the commitment in the wake of the Sandiganbayan’s acquittal yesterday of former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. of plunder.

“In any event, this administration takes stock of the lessons learned from cases involving unconstitutional discretionary funds and has implemented measures to ensure the integrity of the national budget and its proper utilization for our people,” he said.

Panelo assured the public that the Palace will respect the decision of the anti-graft court.

“The court has spoken and the Palace abides by its decision finding Ms. Janet Lim-Napoles and Mr. Richard Cambe guilty and former senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla not liable for plunder in relation to the pork barrel scam,” he said.

The latest court decision proves that the justice system in the country is working, the Palace official said.

“The judiciary has performed its constitutional duty of dispensing justice,” Panelo said. “While justice grinds so slow most of the time, it does grind, and when it stops it renders a verdict that is exacting and immutable.”

In a vote of 3-2, the Sandiganbayan First Division cleared Revilla of plunder, saying there was no direct evidence to prove that the actor-turned-senator had misused his pork allocation, officially known then as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

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