MANILA, Philippines — Don’t be too quick to judge Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., according to his party’s president, Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Romualdez, president of the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats, said he was standing behind Revilla not only because they belong to the same political party, but because by his own reckoning as a lawyer, no solid evidence has been presented against the Senator so far.
Revilla is one of three senators facing plunder charges for the allegedly diverting their pork barrel funds in a scheme allegedly involving a network of bogus non-governmental organizations.
Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The other Senators are Juan Ponce Enrile and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada.
“I have yet to see any solid evidence against him, especially the key component of plunder which says that the accused pocketed the money in question,” Romualdez said in a statement.
Given this, he said, the public should not judge Revilla.
“As President [Benigno] Aquino himself declared, innocent until proven guilty. So I appeal to the public not to prejudge Senator Revilla based only on press releases and supposed expert opinions,” he said.
Only the court could rule on his guilt or innocence, he added.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte expressed support Monday for the idea of leniency toward Enrile should he be arrested in connection with the plunder charge. He said he was in favor Enrile being placed under house arrest and not being confined to an enclosed space.
He said the 90-year-old Enrile should be allowed to move around even if he would be made to stay inside a camp.
“Whereas everybody ought to be treated the same, the law allows some leniency in the case of persons who are of advanced age like myself for instance, but more so like him,” Belmonte told reporters.
But, he added, this privilege should be extended only to Enrile.
“The younger ones are still strong. They are at their strongest,” he said.
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