Benhur Luy concludes testimony vs Revilla

Benhur Luy, the whistleblower in the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, finished his testimony on Thursday in the graft case of Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. at the Sandiganbayan.

Revilla faces graft charges over his alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam, which saw some P517 million in his pork barrel fund diverted to bogus nongovernment organizations owned by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles in exchange for kickbacks.

Revilla also faced plunder charges at the antigraft court, along with his former chief of staff Richard Cambe as well as Napoles.

While Revilla was acquitted of the plunder charge, Cambe and Napoles were convicted.

In response to a clarificatory question from the prosecution on Luy’s earlier testimony about Revilla being “mabait” or “kind,” Luy on Thursday said, “He (Revilla) is kind because he allows us to pay his kickbacks in installments.”

Government lawyers from the Office of the Special Prosecutor maintained that Luy’s characterization of Revilla as “kind” is only in comparison to other lawmakers involved in the pork barrel scam who allegedly demanded that their share be paid in full immediately.

Rheody Anthony Balisi, counsel for Revilla, asked Luy if the message regarding the alleged installment payment of kickbacks came from Revilla himself.

Luy said the senator did not give him the message personally, but rather, the message was coursed through Cambe.