Senator Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr. Photo by RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
URDANETA CITY — Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday said he did not see any reason why the three indicted senators in the pork barrel scam should resign, noting his colleagues have yet to be found guilty by the Sandiganbayan.
Marcos was reacting to the statement of the Scrap Pork Network calling for Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. to step down for the alleged wrongful wielding of their power.
On Tuesday, the Office of the Ombudsman charged the three senators, along with businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, with plunder and graft for their alleged involvement in an operation to funnel pork barrel funds to dummy nongovernment organizations in exchange for kickbacks.
“We have to [consider] presumption of innocence. Why should they resign when they are not yet [found] guilty?” said Marcos, who was in this city to inaugurate riverbank protection projects that he funded here and in the towns of Manaoag, Mangaldan and Lingayen.
“We have not even heard yet the evidence that is with the Ombudsman. We must presume them to be innocent for the legal system to be fair. If we presume them to be innocent, why should they resign?” he said.
Marcos said the indictment of the three senators should be an opportunity for them to answer the accusations “point by point.”
He said that before their indictment, the charges were all read and heard through the media but there were no formal complaints.
“Let’s see what evidence there is against them. I already have a copy of the indictment and all the attachments are there. For now, we just have to let the judicial system take its course,” Marcos said.
He said that if there were other senators involved in the scam, they should have been included in the complaint.
“But I think this (complaint) should not be [limited to] only senators or congressmen. I was just wondering because if there is really abuse like this, a legislator cannot do it alone. What about those in the executive [department]? It’s very clear that this cannot happen without the involvement of those in the executive,” he said.
“There are many others involved but why are they not being investigated? We have to do this to end this problem. I think we’re still in the first steps to solving this problem,” he said.
Marcos also said he would not want any senator resigning at this time because the Senate still has a lot of work to do.
“When we go back in May, we will be tackling several big issues, such as the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed on March 27,” he said.
“This is the biggest issue and we need all the help of all the senators,” he added.
Asked if he was running for President in the 2016 elections, Marcos said: “I will follow my father’s (the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos) advice in life. He told me, ‘Keep your options open.’” Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon