Fallout of the Revilla acquittal

The biggest news early last week was the acquittal of Bong Revilla from the plunder case by the Sandiganbayan. It tapered off the headlines/front page when the newer pork barrel scandal erupted between the Senate, the Lower House, and Malacañang in the later part of the week, and the return of the Balangiga bells by the US to the Philippines.

The Revilla acquittal will not die down completely as the decision was 3-2 in favor of acquittal, and the dissenting opinions were very convincing. There was selective appreciation of the evidence, especially the disregard of the AMLA evidence on the deposits to Revilla’s bank account on the dates that his chief aide, Cambe, received the money. Then there is the matter of Cambe getting convicted of plunder together with Napoles, and the order of the Sandiganbayan that the accused have to the return the plundered money amounting to P125 million. Then the rejoinder of Revilla’s lawyer that his acquittal means he does not have to return the money, while other legal experts opined that he has to return the money. The Sandiganbayan will have to clarify the order, so this acquittal will be in the news in the days to come.

The main and social media for five days was 9-1 against the decision. The netizens were incensed and nobody in the main media defended the Sandiganbayan decision. Malacañang had to distance from the decision and some senators and congressmen expressed disappointment or kept silent on the acquittal. The decision and rumors of influence on the justices were floating and put the justices and the judiciary under critical public opinion at a time when its prestige has been eroded by a number of politically-influenced decisions on the Marcos burial, the granting of bail to Enrile and Estrada, and the conviction and granting of bail to Imelda Marcos. The public vehemence was deep and wide particularly from Facebook and Twitter postings. A positive spin on the decision was non-existent except from the Revilla camp.

The negative implication to the Revilla family will be something to see in the coming May election where he is running for senator. The other Revilla family members running for local positions in Cavite may be able to contain the damage but it will be harder in the national level where the news-aware middle- class voters will be a large factor. This will be a test of voter’s education and maturity and the result will be a judgment on Revilla and on the Filipino voters.

On the current administration, which has anti-corruption as one of its major platforms, this will affect their credibility and popularity in view of Malacañang’s identification with the Revillas and with others charged with similar offenses. It is a loss of moral grounds and the emptiness of its corruption crusade. This, together with the pork barrel insertions scandal will unhinge some Duterte supporters who had voted for him, expecting a departure from traditional elite politicians’ dominance. If it is business as usual for the corrupt politicians, then “change is not coming.”

There will be other factors and issues that will influence the coming May election, some of them more compelling to some voters like the poverty incidence, inflation, and economic growth; but corruption will and has always been a major issue in all Philippine elections, so the outcome of the senatorial race will be something to anticipate by everyone. It could be an indication to where our democratic form of government is going, and what we should be doing.