MANILA, Philippines - As epic movie character "Panday," he would walk in the desert without breaking a single sweat. A few hours in a hot detention room, Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. suffered from migraine.
Revilla's lawyer, Joel Bodegon, said on Friday afternoon that the senator suffered from migraine only a few hours after being brought to his cell. It was the senator's first time to be placed in jail, unlike his fellow plunder respondents Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada.
The two other senators have yet to be issued with warrants of arrest by the Sandiganbayan division handling their plunder cases.
Also read: Arrest warrant out vs Bong, 31 others
"Masyadong mainit," Bodegon said in a radio interview. "May migraine siya, that's why he needs some medicine."
Revilla had played the role of the invincible epic hero "Panday," who owns a magical sword.
The senator is locked in a 32 square-meter cell, which has only one window a single ceiling fan. It also has a single bed frame with a mattress.
Bodegon said that Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado, Revilla's wife, is requesting that a "cooler" installed inside the detention cell in the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
The camp, however, still needs to seek permission from the court to be allowed to have appliances brought to the detention cell of the senator, who is facing plunder for allegedly pocketing a chunk of his Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel through the bogus foundations of scam operator Janet Lim Napoles.
Revilla allegedly got P517 million from the pork barrel scam. He turned himself in before the Sandiganbayan on Friday morning and was brought to the PNP's national headquarters for detention.
Read: Bong Revilla seeks bail for 'pork' plunder
Revilla's camp also sought to be granted bail, saying the evidence against him is "not strong." The senator has denied all allegations and claimed that it was just a scheme to stymy his plans to run for president in 2016.