Revilla: DOJ, Ombudsman shouldn’t resort to ‘legal shortcuts’ in filing charges over ‘pork’

Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. called on the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday “not to resort to legal shortcuts and kowtow to Palace maneuverings” by pushing through with the filing of charges against him and two other colleagues in connection with the “pork barrel” scam.

Revilla, along with Sentors Juan Ponce-Enrile and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, are among those facing plunder charges in connection with the “pork” scam.

Revilla said he was worried about reports reaching his office that Justice Secretary Leila De Lima and Ombudsman Conchita-Morales would skip legal proceedings in their investigation and file charges against him.

“If they do that, our legal system would now be open to more abuses by the ones who were supposed to be entrusted to uphold the law like the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman. Otherwise, there will be no laws to follow and we’ll simply file cases everytime the administration changes,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.

The senator also warned De Lima and Morales not to abuse their authority just to pin them down following his complaint that his lawyers were not given copies of testimonies of the so-called witnesses and pieces of evidence linking him to the case.

“When we filed a motion to be furnished copies of the sworn statements and other alleged pieces evidence submitted by Dennis Cunanan, Gondelina Amata, Alexis Sevidal, and many others, all of which were used by the Ombudsman against us, we were denied.  They said there was no cogent reason to furnish us,” Revilla lamented.

It was a clear case, he said, that his rights were violated and both the Ombudsman and the DOJ were “skirting the law and due process and are becoming a political tool for harassment and demolition of political personalities.”

“How can I defend myself if they don’t give their so-called evidence and testimony against me,” he said.

Revilla also took notice of what he described as “selective nature” of the “pork” investigation by the DOJ by skirting favored administration allies, which he said was tantamount to political persecution.

He also reiterated his call for the reopening of “pork” investigation by the Senate blue ribbon committee and to compel De Lima to submit to the panel the so-called “pork” list of detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

It is important to know, he said, who were among those in the list and for them to know why De Lima personally talked to Napoles, describing her action as “rather unusual and unethical.”

He said De Lima’s unethical behavior was a “clear violation of the Canon of Judicial Ethics.”

“If you were the justice secretary, you should not be faulted for bias in carrying out your official duty and partiality of actions that would put your office’s integrity in a bad light. Her very act of seeing Napoles was a clear violation of the law as a lawyer, especially since she’s a justice secretary,” said Revilla.

De Lima’s admission in media interviews that she went to see Napoles in the hospital showed her “partiality to the case as well as her arrogance,” the senator added.

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