The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division on Monday entered a not guilty plea for former Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. in the graft case in connection with the alleged ghost P92.8 million flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
This developed after Revilla refused to enter a plea in the graft charge, prompting the anti-graft court to enter a not guilty plea for him.
Atty. Francesca Señga, the spokesperson for Revilla, said the former Senator refused to enter a plea in the graft charge since his defense has yet to get a hold of the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division Resolution denying Revilla’s bid to quash the graft charges against him.
“We are yet to receive the court resolution on our motion. He did not enter a plea because such is allowed under the Rules of Court,” Señga told reporters after the court proceedings.
“We filed a motion to quash the [graft] information. We are questioning its validity. The court has ruled on that motion [to quash], but it does not bar us from availing remedies to assail that order denying the motion,” she added.
Ombudsman prosecutors alleged that Revilla and his six other co-accused former Department of Public Works and Highways officials in Bulacan declared the project completed despite the absence of any actual construction and thereafter falsified accomplishment reports, issued fraudulent billing documents, and endorsed disbursement vouchers to facilitate the release of the entire project cost.
Revilla earlier posted a P90,000 bail before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division in connection with the graft charge filed against him.
However, he is currently detained in Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Brgy. Payatas, Quezon City, due to the pending malversation case against him over the same alleged ghost P92.8 million Bulacan flood control project.
Malversation is a non-bailable charge, meaning the accused in the case, including Revilla, would need to file a motion for bail, and the court would rule in favor of that same motion to secure temporary liberty. –NB, GMA Integrated News
