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MANILA, Philippines—Priest activist Robert Reyes supported calls to put Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. in ordinary jail should they proven guilty of being involved in the pork barrel scam, saying regular prisons are “good for the soul.”
The so-called “running priest,” known for taking the tracks to advance his causes, said he had experienced being jailed and that it cleansed his soul.
“’Yung mayaman, hindi nakakaranas ng ordinary jail. Pero maganda sa kaluluwa (The rich do not experience ordinary jail. But it’s good for the soul),” Father Reyes said during the “Usaping Balita” media forum on Thursday.
He added that it’s about time these well-off officials experience the “purgatory of jail” before they depart this world.
“Naranasan naman na nila ang luho, baka maganda na bago iwanan ang mundong ito, maranasan naman nila ang purgatoryo ng kulungan,” Reyes said.
(They had experienced living a good life, anyway. Maybe it’s better if they experience purgatory of jail before they leave this world.)
“I think it would be good for the soul that people experience the humiliation and misery of life in jail,” he added.
The accused senators should be convicted and jailed of plunder this year, the activist priest said, noting that there would be no more time to arrest them in 2015 or the campaign season before the next elections.
Enrile, Estrada and Revilla were charged for plunder for allegedly diverting their Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to the bogus organizations of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles. The pork barrel funds were allegedly funneled to ghost projects for kickbacks.
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