MANILA, Philippines—The camp of Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. dismissed as malicious the report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) that claimed the senator hid P87 million in unexplained wealth at the time of the pork barrel scam.
“Ang pagko-connect ng deposito sa accounts, based on malice. May malisya talaga. Pina-connect lang ang cash deposits sa account ni Senator Bong dahil lang convenient,” Bodegon said in an interview at the Sandiganbayan on Thursday.
He added that the AMLC failed to show that Revilla’s bank accounts contained kickbacks from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), a pork barrel.
“Wala naman silang mapalabas na ang pera ni Senator Bong ay galing sa PDAF,” Bodegon said.
Sen. Bong Revilla. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
During Revilla’s bail hearing from plunder, AMLC bank investigator Leigh Vhon Santos said their report confirmed the whistleblowers’ statements that Revilla received millions in kickbacks through his aide Richard Cambe.
The AMLC said the millions of unexplained wealth were deposited at approximately the time principal whistleblower Benhur Luy claimed kickbacks were delivered to Revilla through Cambe.
“This is a presumption of undeclaration of unexplained wealth… There is a reasonable basis that the deposits in our report came from PDAF,” Santos said as he took the witness stand.
He also said the bank records corroborate the whistleblowers’ statements on the scam, as well as Benhur Luy’s financial ledger detailing the PDAF transactions.
Santos added that the deposits made did not come from the salaries Revilla earned as endorser and actor.
“It follows that the deposit inflows do not come from his salary and from fees for movies, appearances or product endorsement,” Santos said.
He went on to say that Revilla could have even hid some money that he withdrew instead of transferring it to another bank.
“This could only mean money is kept on hand and could be deposited some other time,” Santos said.
The AMLC investigator earlier told the court that Revilla deposited P87.6 million in his and immediate family members’ bank accounts from April 6, 2006 to April 28, 2010.
This was the same period that principal whistleblower Benhur Luy alleged that Revilla, through his aide and lawyer Richard Cambe, received kickbacks from his projects funded by his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also known as pork barrel.
The AMLC also said Revilla closed these bank accounts at the height of the scandal.
AMLC also said Nature Concepts Development and Realty Corp. controlled by Revilla’s wife Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla received substantial amounts worth P27.745 million, the bulk of which were deposited close to the dates Cambe allegedly received Revilla’s kickbacks from Luy.
Revilla and his wife also transferred to the company at least P16 million, Santos said.
The AMLC also noted that Rep. Mercado-Revilla’s company received the money despite having no operations and having insubstantial capital, Santos said.
Revilla is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center as he faces plunder for his alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam, the purported scheme of using public funds to ghost projects for kickbacks.
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