Bong Revilla’s lawyer: Revised plunder raps meant to make Napoles state witness
Atty. Joel Bodegon. INQUIRER.net/NOY MORCOSO
MANILA, Philippines–The prosecutor sought to amend the plunder charge of Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. to make alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles a state witness against the senator, Revilla’s lawyer said.
Atty. Joel Bodegon told reporters on Thursday that the prosecutor wanted to make Revilla the mastermind of the scam instead of Napoles by amending the charge sheet.
“It is meant to justify that Napoles is not most guilty so that she can be state witness,” Bodegon said in Filipino.
Bodegon made the statement after Revilla refused to enter any plea over his plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan.
The anti-graft court also junked the special prosecutors’ motion for the court to admit the amended plunder information of Revilla.
Bodegon said that the prosecution’s move is a “judicial admission that they have no case against Revilla.”
In the amended information, the special prosecutor under the Ombudsman wants to amend the information to say alleged mastermind Janet Lim-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 case that states: “enabling Napoles to misappropriate the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) proceeds for her personal gain.”
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 Ombudsman, in indicting the lawmaker, said the movie actor-turned-senator collected P224.512 million kickbacks from 2006 to 2010 from the alleged illegal disbursement of his Priority Development Assistance Funds.
Revilla faces one count of plunder and 16 counts of graft. Plunder is a non-bailable offense.
Also charged were senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada, as well as alleged mastermind Napoles. Besides Revilla, Estrada has also surrendered to the police.
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