Palace: Revilla's arrest a 'step forward'

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang welcomes the issuance of arrest warrants against Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. and his co-accused in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

"The issuance of warrants of arrest against Senator Revilla and others implicated in the plunder case pertaining to the alleged misuse of public funds is a significant step forward in the judicial process," Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement on Friday.

Revilla, businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, and 31 others were charged with plunder and graft in a four-page resolution signed by Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Efren de la Cruz, chairman of the court's First Division.

Revilla's and his co-accused's motions to suspend the proceedings were also denied on Thursday, pending separate petitions they have filed before the Supreme Court to stop their prosecution.

As more people charged in connection with the scam await their arrest, Malacañang assured that a "fair and just trial" will be given to all accused.

"We believe that through a fair and just trial, accountability will be clearly established and in like manner, those who are innocent will be exonerated. We join the citizenry in hoping that truth and justice will prevail," Coloma said.

Like Revilla and Napoles, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada have been accused of amassing kickbacks from the pork barrel funds siphoned off to the dummy non-government organizations of the businesswoman, the suspected mastermind of the scam.

Revilla surrendered to the Sandiganbayan earlier today but maintained his innocence.