Revilla asks court to void freeze order

Senator Bong Revilla. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. has asked the Sandiganbayan to recall its resolution freezing his bank accounts, real estate properties and other assets that are subject of the plunder case filed against him by the government.

An 18-page motion for reconsideration filed by Revilla through lawyers said the Feb. 5 resolution on the issuance of preliminary attachment issued by the antigraft court was tantamount to prejudgment.

He said such a move would violate his right to presumption of innocence and right to equal protection.

“Senator Revilla was already penalized without benefit of a full-blown trial,” said the motion.

It pointed out that the writ was issued in connection to a plunder charge and not to a civil case for forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth.

As such, there is a need for the prosecution to demolish the presumption of innocence.

“With the issuance of a writ of attachment, this Honorable Court has effectively declared all of Senator Revilla’s properties ill-gotten without affording him his constitutional right to due process of law,” the motion said.

It further said that the court gave weight to the prosecution’s argument that Revilla has no sufficient security for the government’s claim and had admitted in public that he already closed several bank accounts after the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam broke out in the media.