Palace denies Revilla claim he was influenced to impeach Corona

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Monday denied the allegations of  Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. in his privileged speech at the Senate that President Benigno Aquino III influenced him to convict the then Chief Justice Renato Corona in his impeachment trial.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Revilla should not divert from the real issue, that is for the senator to explain to the people how he spent his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation.

“The main issue is the proper use of public funds for which the senator is accountable,” Coloma said during a press conference in Malacañang.

He confirmed that Aquino met with Revilla during the impeachment trial but stressed that he did not influence the senator on his decision to convict Corona.

He said the President only asked Revilla to decide based on the merits of the case and not to be dictated by interest groups.

He also said the President deplores the unfair insinuation made by Revilla against his sister, Maria Elena Aquino-Cruz, and her husband Eldon, despite the fact that the Czech ambassador has clearly stated that they were not in any way involved in the MRT project in which a Czech firm was interested.

He said Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas III will issue a separate statement regarding the allegations thrown at him by Revilla.

Revilla made a privileged speech on Monday afternoon when the Senate resumed session to answer allegations against him regarding the use of his pork barrel funds.

Revilla made stinging attacks on the pork barrel scam whistle-blowers led by Benhur Luy, but shifted  to making allegations against the President and his allies related to the Corona impeachment trial.