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MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. on Monday evening voluntarily surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) at its headquarters in Camp Crame.
Revilla arrived at around 9 p.m., accompanied by acting Philippine National Police chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and other senior police officials.
He declined to comment to reporters and proceeded directly to the main building of the Philippine National Police headquarters.
According to Nartatez, Revilla was informed of his Miranda rights and underwent booking and medical procedures. His detention status, however, has yet to be determined.
Earlier on Monday, the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division issued a warrant of arrest against Revilla and his co-accused, including former Bulacan engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and three others, in connection with charges of malversation and falsification of public documents over the alleged P92.8-million anomalous flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
Hernandez, Mendoza, and another co-accused, Bulacan engineer RJ Domasig, are currently under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation in Pasay.
The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. and six former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Bulacan for a non-bailable case of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents in connection with an alleged P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi town.
In a phone interview with The STAR, Sandiganbayan Third Division clerk of court Dennis Pulma confirmed that the court yesterday promulgated a resolution finding probable cause to issue arrest warrant and hold departure order (HDO) against Revilla and his six co-accused.
“After a careful review of the resolution (of the Office of the Ombudsman) and its supporting documents, as well as the records, the court finds that probable cause exists in this case, pursuant to Section 5, Rule 112 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure,” read the Third Division’s resolution, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR.
The resolution was signed by Third Division chairman Associate Justice Karl Miranda, senior member Associate Justice Ronald Moreno and junior member Associate Justice Fritz Bryan Anthony delos Santos.
Pulma said the Third Division issued the actual arrest warrant as well as the HDO shortly after promulgation of the resolution.
He said copies of the arrest warrant were already transmitted to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies for immediate implementation.
Meanwhile, a copy of the HDO was transmitted to the Bureau of Immigration, Pulma said.
Apart from Revilla, ordered arrested by the court were former officials of the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office (DEO), including former assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez, former Construction Section chief Jaypee Mendoza, former engineers Arjay Domasig and Emelita Juat, accountant Juanito Mendoza and cashier Christina Pineda.
The arrest warrant and the HDO were issued by the Third Division on the same day it was chosen, through a special raffle, to handle the non-bailable case of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents against Revilla and his co-accused.
The bailable case of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against Revilla and the six former DPWH Bulacan officials was raffled off to the court’s Fourth Division.
The Fourth Division has yet to issue any resolution, arrest warrant or HDO as of last night.
Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman last Friday, both cases stemmed from an alleged P92.8-million flood control project in Purok 5, Barangay Bunsuran, Pandi, Bulacan, which turned out to be “ghost” or never implemented.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano earlier said the ombudsman’s investigation revealed that Revilla and the other accused “conspired” to facilitate the release of around P76 million out of the P92.8-million project even if there was no construction that had taken place.
“Despite the absence of any actual construction, the respondents declared the project completed. Thereafter, to facilitate the release of the entire project cost, the respondents are found to have falsified accomplishment reports, issued fraudulent billing documents and endorsed disbursement vouchers,” Clavano said.
Former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who was recently admitted to the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program, had earlier testified during the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing that Revilla received around 25 percent or P125 million in commissions or kickbacks from the flood control projects.
Revilla, through his lawyers, had denied the allegation.
Revilla, as well as Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and fugitive resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Zaldy Co, are facing a separate investigation by the DOJ for complaints of plunder and graft filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in connection with their alleged involvement in fund insertions for DPWH flood control projects supposedly in exchange for kickbacks.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla ruled out initiating deportation proceedings against Co, who is believed to be in Portugal, to compel the resigned lawmaker to come home and face the charges filed against him.
Remulla said that the call issued by Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima to deport Co as the logical move to repatriate the fugitive former lawmaker was “improbable.”
“That’s the most elegant but the most improbable,” he said in an interview over GMA’s “Balitanghali” program.
Such a move, Remulla noted, required filing an extradition request to initiate deportation. He stressed that the Philippines and Portugal have no extradition treaty.
Plunder complaint
In a related development, former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan is facing a plunder complaint before the DOJ, as he is being linked to alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Polo Martinez, DOJ spokesman, said Bonoan, who recently returned to the Philippines, was included in the plunder complaint filed by the NBI.
He, however, said the case has not yet been set for preliminary investigation, as it is still to be assigned to a panel of prosecutors. — Daphne Galvez, Rainier Allan Ronda, Mark Ernest Villeza
