Ombudsman amends Revilla’s plunder raps before arraignment
Office of the Ombudsman. PHOTO from www.ombudsman.gov.ph
MANILA, Philippines—The Office of the Ombudsman wants to amend the plunder case against Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. to underscore that he pressured implementing agencies to favor the bogus foundations of Janet Lim-Napoles.
The Ombudsman amended the charge sheet two days before the set arraignment of Revilla and his co-accused on Thursday.
“The accused are not yet arraigned, hence, the [information] may still be amended in form and substance without leave of court,” the Ombudsman said in a memorandum recommending the changes.
According to the amended information, Revilla “(exerted) undue pressure on the implementing agencies to favorably act on his endorsements to the NGOs (non-government organizations) of Napoles…”
This was done by Revilla purportedly to “ensure that his PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Funds) be in the possession and control of Napoles and her cohorts which undue pressure and endorsements were made in exchange for kickbacks, percentage or commissions, thereby enriching himself…” according to the amended charge sheet.
Dennis Cunanan, the director general on-leave of the Technology Resource Center (TRC), has testified that Revilla called him up personally so that the senator’s pork barrel funds were funneled to Napoles’ bogus foundations. TRC and other implementing agencies were tagged as the conduit of Napoles with lawmakers.
The amended information also said Revilla is a “public officer” who “by himself or in connivance with” his co-accused public officers and private individuals amassed ill-gotten wealth.
It also added that Revilla “collected directly or indirectly” not only kickbacks but even “percentages.”
The amended information sheet also said the ghost projects were not only fictitious but also “anomalous.”
The amended charge sheet was submitted to the Sandiganbayan on Tuesday attached to an Ombudsman memorandum, which wants to amend the plunder raps of Revilla as well as Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada.
According to an Ombudsman memorandum stating the amended information, the special prosecutor wants to amend the information to say Napoles and her cohorts are “private individuals” who collaborated with the senators in amassing ill-gotten wealth.
They also would like to delete the phrase in the plunder case that the scam “(enabled) Napoles to misappropriate the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) proceeds for her personal gain.”
The memorandum was signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Monday.
In their manifestation with motion to admit amended information, the prosecutor said they amended the case information “to emphasize that the senator was the one who amassed, accumulated and acquired ill-gotten wealth in connivance or in conspiracy with his co-accused public officer and private individuals.”
“The prosecutors deemed it wise to amend them to minimize, if not obviate, objections therein by certain accused which may cause undue delay in the proceedings,” the motion read.
The prosecutor said, however, that their amendments do not change their theory of the case.
The Sandiganbayan is hearing the biggest corruption scandal under the current administration – the alleged pillaging of public funds to ghost projects for kickbacks through the bogus foundations of alleged mastermind Napoles.
Charged for plunder and graft are Napoles, and Senators Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Jinggoy Estrada. Revilla and Estrada have surrendered to the police.
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