Bong turns self in

MANILA, Philippines - With his family, a handful of supporters and his own camera crew in tow, a smiling Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. turned himself in to the Sandiganbayan yesterday morning shortly after the warrant for his arrest for plunder got the last of the three signatures it needed.

“This is voluntary submission. Surrender is when there is a warrant of arrest,” Revilla’s lead defense counsel Joel Bodegon told reporters as the senator was being booked for the non-bailable offense of plunder for allegedly embezzling his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), in cahoots with alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

Bodegon also filed a motion for bail, arguing that the evidence of guilt against the senator “is not strong.”

The arrest warrant, drafted Thursday afternoon, had to wait for the signature of Sandiganbayan First Division chairman Efren de la Cruz before it could be issued.

De la Cruz signed the document only yesterday. Associate Justices Rafael Lagos and Napoleon Inoturan signed the arrest warrant on Thursday.

“There is really no need for the warrant of arrest because from the beginning, he manifested his willingness to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the court,” Bodegon said.

Director Benjamin Magalong, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), led the police in escorting and receiving Revilla for booking procedures, which involved the taking of his mug shot and fingerprint samples at the Security and Sheriffs and Services Office of the Sandiganbayan.

With the senator were his wife Rep. Lani Mercado and son Cavite Vice Gov. Jolo Revilla.

After more than an hour, he was escorted out of the anti-graft court’s premises and brought to Camp Crame in compliance with a commitment order issued by the First Division.

Men in white shirts printed with the words “Karangalan kong maging Indio (It’s an honor to be an Indio)” took videos and photos of the senator as he was being booked. The message on the shirts was an apparent reference to Revilla’s teleserye “Indio” which aired a few years ago.

He is scheduled to return to the Sandiganbayan on June 26 at 8:30 a.m. for arraignment proceedings.

After he had left, a co-accused and former chief of staff Richard Cambe arrived and was subjected to the same procedures.

Revilla is being accused of pocketing P242 million in kickbacks and commissions from PDAF-funded ghost projects.

Also charged with plunder in connection with the pork barrel scam were Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada – his colleagues in the opposition. The two are also facing arrest.

At the PNP multi-purpose hall at Camp Crame, Revilla again underwent booking procedures.

Only members of his family and some friends from showbiz were allowed inside the hall. They were made to surrender their gadgets like cell phones at the lobby of the multi-purpose hall.

Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP Public Information Office director, said Revilla’s blood pressure was 140/90 during medical examination.

Revilla was assigned to detention cell no. 1, being the first of the three senators to be ordered arrested.

Revilla is the 73rd inmate in the Custodial Center.

His wife Lani said she had to buy medicine for the senator’s migraine as well as an undershirt.

“He needs medicine for his migraine attack. We will also ask the PNP to allow us to bring air cooler to make the temperature inside the room more bearable,” she said. 

Magalong said the senator confided to him he is worried about his family. Earlier, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas reiterated that the senator would be “treated with respect.”

Roxas said the Custodial Center would be the temporary detention facility for the senators and the others accused in the plunder case as the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is constructing another detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig City that was “supposedly for the accused in the Zamboanga City siege plus Maguindanao.”

Petition for bail

In filing a motion for bail, Bodegon said the evidence and documents being used against Revilla – as the whistle-blowers themselves had reportedly admitted – contained forged signatures and did not show the participation of the senator in any anomaly.

He said the testimonies of the whistle-blowers led by Benhur Luy were also “bereft of personal knowledge” and should be considered or declared as hearsay.

His motion for bail also carried a request that the senator be detained at Camp Crame.

“The evidence against him is weak. Actually, there is no case against him. So we want the prosecution to show the court that they really have strong evidence because there is none,” Bodegon said.

“He did not receive any kickbacks, even a cent. He did not get anything from that scam. The availment of his fund under the PDAF was all legal,” he said.

Other respondents in the pork barrel fund scam – including Napoles’ children – charged with the lesser offense of graft also showed up one after another at the Sandiganbayan to post bail.

They were former Technology Resource Center (TRC) director general Dennis Cunanan, Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos and National Development Livelihood Corp. head Chita Jalandoni.

Just before office hours closed at the Sandiganbayan, Napoles’ children Jo Christine and James Christopher each posted P450,000 bond through Alpha Insurance and Surety Co.

JLN employees Nitz Cabilao, Fernando Ramirez, Jesus Castillo, Dorilyn Agbay Fabian and Renato Ornopia also posted bail bonds ranging from P60,000 to P450,000.

Meanwhile, Estrada’s lawyer said the senator would surrender to the CIDG and not to the Sandiganbayan once he is served a warrant of arrest.

“He will submit himself (to the jurisdiction of the court) just like (Revilla), but he will go to the CIDG,” lawyer Alexis Abastillas-Suarez told reporters yesterday following a hearing at the Sandiganbayan on Estrada’s motion for judicial determination of probable cause. The motion has been submitted for resolution.

The hearing happened minutes before the arrival of Revilla and his retinue.

The fifth and third divisions – which handle the cases against Estrada and Enrile – have yet to issue arrest warrants against the two.

‘It’s like hell’

Estrada’s wife Precy said that while they have already accepted the prospect of his arrest, the thought of it is still causing them deep anguish.

“If this had not been politicized, there would not have been plunder case,” she told reporters at their residence in Quezon City.

“His case should have passed through the right processes. Their conspiracy is incredible,” Precy said.

“If the proper processes will be followed, then nobody should be going to jail,” she said, adding that the senator had been gravely affected by the turn of events, including the arrest of close friend Revilla.

Estrada said he was taking advantage of his freedom to spend more quality time with his family. He admitted, however, that the wait was agonizing.

“This gives me additional time to spend with my family,” Estrada said, referring to his having to wait for the issuance of the arrest warrant.

He described his waiting as “agonizing moments.”

The senator’s legal team, led by Jose Flaminiano, said they would likely file a petition for bail once the warrant of arrest is issued against his client.

Flaminiano expressed hope that the court would be lenient with his client since he has no intention of fleeing.

Estrada said he had been telling his children to take care of their mother once he is detained.

“I told them to be strong,” he added. “My heart feels heavy.”

He said his youngest daughter, Jillian Precious, 9, is most affected by his impending arrest. “Mama, is daddy going to jail?” she would ask.

Precy was at a loss for words. “She’s too young for that,” she said. The couple has four children.

Estrada said he simply told her, “Maybe baby.”

He said when he told his daughter that it would not be good for her to join him in detention because his cell is unlikely to be air-conditioned, her reply crushed his heart.

“Okay lang dada, basta kasama kita (It’s okay as long as I’m with you),” said Jillian, a Grade 3 student at a private school.

Precy said she has been praying that the arrest does not happen.

“Sirang sira na, sinira na nila ang pagkatao ko (I’m torn, they tore me to shreds),” Precy said, admitting that they had been through the same experience when the senator’s father Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada was ousted as president and eventually jailed for similar plunder charges. “My husband is my security blanket,” she added.

She appealed to the public to spare their children from insult and humiliation.

“They have nothing to do with this, they cannot have a normal life but I told them they have a high profile life,” Precy added. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Christina Mendez, Janvic Mateo, Reinir Padua