MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Richard Cambe, former chief of staff of Sen. Bong Revilla, died in the New Bilibid Prison while serving his sentence for plunder — in a case where his former boss was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan in 2018.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, citing information from the Bureau of Corrections, said late Thursday night that Cambe “suffered a stroke and died at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa this evening.”
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BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag, in a separate message to reporters, said Cambe died past 6:00 p.m. “His next of kin has been informed and they requested that their privacy be respected. So we can only confirm that he died of stroke,” he added.
The BuCor official also said initial investigation did not show any signs of foul play so far.
The Sandiganbayan Special First Division convicted Cambe and alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles on plunder and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years of imprisonment on Dec. 7, 2018.
The court however acquitted Revilla saying the prosecution failed to establish his guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Plunder case
The Sandiganbayan, in a vote of 3-2, on Dec. 7, 2018 acquitted Revilla from plunder charges over the misuse of P224.5 million of allocated Priority Development Assistance Fund funneled to fictitious livelihood projects of Napoles.
The court noted that whistle-blowers Benhur Luy, Marina Sula and Mary Arlene Baltazar, who were all former employees of Napoles, positively identified Cambe as the one whom they transacted with in connection with Revilla’s PDAF.
“Cambe’s participation was clear, but whether Cambe carried out the tasks Revilla chose not to do by himself or he did it for Revilla was not sufficiently established. It is also not clear that Cambe’s participation proceeded from Revilla’s order and authority,” the decision, penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, read.
For Associate Justice Efren De la Cruz, Cambe’s participation stemmed from order and authority of Revilla who is a “seasoned senator.”
“What matters is that he was designated by Revilla to represent him in the transaction and Cambe willingly did perform a sizable role in the furtherance of the conspiracy,” De la Cruz said in his dissenting opinion.
A STAR report said Cambe, appearing despondent after the promulgation, refused to talk to the media.
Cambe’s former boss walked free on the same day he was acquitted. As Revilla walked out from the Philippine National Police custodial center — where he and Cambe were held since the filing of charges in June 2014 — he was greeted by his family and some supporters.
Revilla has successfully made a political comeback in 2019. He is an incumbent senator of the country. — with reports from The STAR/Elizabeth Marcelo