Former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and wife Lani Mercado. MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB/INQUIRER.net
MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has postponed to Feb. 23 the start of former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.’s plunder trial pending resolution of his eleventh-hour motion to quash the charge for being inadequately detailed.
Instead, oral arguments were heard in open court, with Office of the Special Prosecutor Director Joefferson Toribio going toe-to-toe against legal heavyweight Estelito Mendoza.
Mendoza said that at most, the allegations only constituted a criminal case for direct bribery, with a penalty not as hefty as that for plunder.
He maintained that Revilla’s alleged endorsement of fake foundations linked to Janet Lim-Napoles was not in itself an “overt or criminal act” through which ill-gotten wealth was acquired under the plunder law.
“If the prosecutors want, they can file another case that’s not plunder, but simple bribery,” he told the court.
Mendoza added that Revilla’s right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation was violated. “He has been detained for the past two years… but up to this point, he does not understand his offense and for what reason he was detained,” he said.
Toribio said Revilla’s motion to quash the case “is filed too late and is an afterthought.” He also expressed concern that “it will cause a delay in the resolution of this case.”
The lead prosecutor added that the Revilla camp’s prior legal tactics “negate” the claim that the purportedly insufficient case information violated his right to due process.
He pointed out that Revilla petitioned for bail and his lawyers cross-examined the witnesses in his failed attempt to show the evidence was not enough to cause his detention.
“It is crystal clear to us that he understood the charges… to the point of assembling his defense,” Toribio told the court. “They filed a petition for bail which categorically stated that the information is weak. How could they have said that it was weak if he doesn’t understand?”
Toribio also countered Mendoza’s claim that the charge sheet did not indicate an “overt or criminal act,” through which Revilla allegedly amassed the ill-gotten wealth.
He explained that the endorsement of the Napoles-linked organizations fell under the plunder law’s prohibition on receiving commissions from a government contract.
The allegation that Revilla received kickbacks repeatedly also fell under the plunder law’s provision against the act of taking advantage of an official position to enrich himself at the expense of the Filipino people, Toribio added.
After the submission of their written memoranda, the court will resolve the motion first before resuming trial depending on the outcome.
Revilla attended the hearing with his son, Cavite Vice Governor Ramon “Jolo” Revilla III. He declined to comment on the postponement of the trial, but told reporters that his father, former Senator Ramon Revilla, Sr., is in a stable condition after the success of his heart surgery. SFM/rga