Not guilty: Sandigan enters plea for Revilla

MANILA, Philippines–Panday’s amulets failed to stop his enemies from running him over with the wheels of justice on Thursday.

Sen. Bong Revilla, the action movie hero best known for his take on Fernando Poe Jr.’s original portrayal of “Ang Panday,” refused to enter a plea during his arraignment at the Sandiganbayan on plunder and graft charges over the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

To the charge of plunder and each of 16 counts of graft read to him by the clerk of court, Revilla replied, “No plea, your Honors.”

Each time, Associate Justice Efren de la Cruz, chair of the Sandiganbayan First Division, entered a plea of not guilty for Revilla.

Then the court set the first hearing of Revilla’s case for July 6.

Revilla’s lawyer Joel Bodegon said the senator refused to enter a plea because of pending matters that needed to be resolved first, including the Ombudsman’s finding of probable cause to make him stand trial.

Revilla has asked the Supreme Court to review the Ombudsman’s decision to charge him with plunder and graft for pocketing P224 million from his pork barrel funds.

His wife, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado, other members of his family and supporters, including his manager Lolit Solis, were in the courtroom for his arraignment.

Not guilty pleas

Fifteen of Revilla’s coaccused entered not guilty pleas, among them Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam, and his staff member Richard Cambe.

Revilla, in a barong tagalog, sat beside Cambe while Napoles, in a blue sweater, sat in the opposite row several paces away.

At their first meeting in court, Napoles wanted to speak to Revilla and the other accused to apologize to them, according to her lawyer Stephen David.

But Napoles did not get to talk to them.

“She said she wanted to speak (to Revilla). She wanted to talk to the other accused. She wanted to tell them she was saddened by all these things. So many people got involved because of her fight with Benhur (Luy),” David said, referring to the principal witness in the pork barrel scam case.

Surrounded by policemen, Revilla appeared relaxed, smiling and waving to his fans and political supporters as he was taken into the courtroom.

About 50 of Revilla’s supporters and fans showed up at the Sandiganbayan for his arraignment.

Kokoy Gozun, one of his supporters from Cavite province, said he believed Revilla was just a victim of political persecution.

That’s Revilla’s original line. He had been going around the slums of Cavite and Metro Manila before his arrest on June 20 claiming that the administration of President Aquino linked him to the pork barrel scandal to stop him from running for president in 2016.

Gozun denied that Revilla’s supporters were paid to gather at the Sandiganbayan for him. He said the supporters came on their own volition.

Members of the group wore uniform button pins with the message, “Stop political persecution” and “Where is the straight path,” a reference to the slogan for President Aquino’s anticorruption campaign.

Hoodie and shades

Napoles, who was surrounded by police commandos in full battle gear, tried to avoid reporters by putting on her hood and shades, the same strategy she used to conceal her identity in her pictures that had appeared countless times in the newspapers.

The others who pleaded not guilty of graft were former Technical Resource Center (TRC) Director General Dennis Cunanan, Ma. Rosalinda Lacsamana, Marivic Jover, Eulogio Rodriguez, Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, Evelyn de Leon, Encarnita Christina Munsod, Maria Ninez Guañizo, Gondelina Amata, Ofelia Ordoñez, Chita Jalandoni, Gregoria Buenaventura and Jocelyn Piorato.

Napoles’ lawyer David said he had not yet spoken to Napoles’ bodyguard John Raymund de Asis and nephew Ronald John Lim, who remain at large.

“We still have legal remedies,” David said when asked whether the two would also surrender.

No pleas

Six other accused who have posted bail refused to enter any pleas due to motions pending in the court.

They are Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, Lalaine Paule, Marilou Bare and Rosario Nuñez of the Department of Budget and Management; Francisco Figura of the TRC; and Rhodora Mendoza of the National Agribusiness Corp.–With a report from Leila B. Salaverria