Sandigan orders temporary freezing of Revilla’s alleged pork scam loot

Sen. Bong Revilla INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines—The Sandiganbayan First Division has formally ordered the temporary freezing of detained Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.’s assets worth P224.5 million believed to be part of Revilla’s loot from the pork barrel scam.

In an order promulgated Thursday, the antigraft court granted state prosecutors’ writ for preliminary attachment and garnishment on Revilla’s alleged ill-gotten wealth from the scam.

“You are hereby ordered to secure and attach the properties of accused Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. attach so much of the property in the Philippines of the said accused, not exempt from execution, as may be sufficient to satisfy the applicant’s demand in an amount not exceeding P224,512,500 in value,” the court said in the order.

Copies of the writ will be distributed to all sheriff’s offices in Metro Manila, the Philippine National Police, and other law enforcement agencies, all of which were ordered to report to the Sandiganbayan’s Sheriff and Security Services Office.

The prosecution wanted the court to secure Revilla’s assets and properties to make sure the detained senator does not dispose of his wealth pending the court’s judgment on his plunder case.

The order has an effect of a freeze order, albeit temporary, until the court issues its final decision on Revilla’s case. This is meant to ensure that government can recover the alleged loot if the court rules that it is part of state coffers.

The garnished properties could be in the form of cash, real properties, shares of stocks, and other financial instruments.

In their motion for garnishment, the prosecutors said there is a need to preserve the alleged kickbacks in the course of the court hearings.

“There is prima facie evidence showing that much of accused’s wealth is ill-gotten, the same having been sourced from public money amassed, accumulated or acquired from bribes, commissions and kickbacks amounting to P224 million from his P515 million PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Funds). Such P224 million wealth, which appears to be prima facie ill-gotten, has to be preserved pending final determination of the legality, thereof, including any purchased property sourced from such money,” the motion read.

A notice of garnishment is a legal notification served on a third party to hold, subject to a court’s direction, money or property belonging to a person or persons that are subject to litigation.

This means that if the court issues the notice, it deems that Revilla may owe the garnished assets to the government, which maintains that these assets were unlawfully acquired and therefore belong to the public coffers.

The prosecutors said Revilla as a political figure has the clout to hide his wealth believed to have been obtained from the pork barrel scam.

“The accused has abused the ordinary PDAF processes to cloak with a mystique of legality their nefarious scheme of siphoning public monies for their own. It is thus quite logical to believe that he will likewise abuse judicial and legal processes to conceal or dispose any part of his unlawfully acquired wealth,” the motion read.

The prosecution had said their motion is necessary to protect the interests of the State in forfeiture cases and to prevent the concealment of ill-gotten wealth.

“Without this provision remedy, the State will be left holding an empty bag even if it eventually obtains a favorable judgment after trial,” the motion read.

Senators Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile as well as their aides and alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles are detained to stand trial on plunder charges arising from the pork barrel scam.

Revilla and Estrada are locked up at the PNP Custodial Center while Enrile is under hospital detention.

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