MANILA, Philippines—Supporters of beleaguered Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. gathered outside the Senate on Monday to protest what they described as political persecution and harassment against him.
The protesters belonging to the group “Koalisyon ng Maralita Kontra Korap” started to gather ahead of Revilla’s scheduled privilege speech when session opens at 3:30 p.m. this Monday.
They were wearing red shirts and carrying placards that read “Politika vs Katotohanan” (Politics vs Truth), “Itigil ang Panggigipit” (Stop the harassment) and “Sen. Bong biktima ng maruming politika ” (Sen. Bong, victim of dirty politics).
“We are calling on Ombudsman (Conchita Carpio –Morales) to be fair, and not to focus only on the three senators,” the group’s spokesman, Nestor Villanueva, said in Filipino.
The three embattled senators are Revilla, Juan Ponce-Enrile and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada. They were among several politicians and personalities indicted for plunder before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly pocketing huge kickbacks from their pork barrel allotments. Also charged with plunder were businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and five others.
Villanueva said their group is convinced that Malacañang was behind the charges against Revilla et al.
He said they would hold the rally until 5 p.m., but their fight would continue until Revilla would be given due process.
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