Bong disputes AMLC report; lawyer sees criminal intent

MANILA, Philippines - Detained Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. disputed yesterday the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) that he had amassed illegal wealth through the millions of pesos in kickbacks he supposedly got from the pork barrel funds diverted to fake non-government organizations of operator Janet Lim-Napoles.

In a statement sent from his detention cell at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City, Revilla also slammed the AMLC’s deliberate exclusion of his legitimate sources of income.

The AMLC has labeled the Revilla accounts as unexplained wealth.

Revilla is facing plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly pocketing some P224 million in kickbacks or commissions from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations from 2007 to 2009.

He claimed that he is innocent and is asking the anti-graft court to grant him bail.

Revilla’s lawyers said the money was in truth from the Revilla couple’s compensation as actors.

“Everything is justified. This P87 million they said I earned in five years… But Panday alone grossed P100 million,” Revilla said, referring to the income he earned from his blockbuster movie.

The sequel of Panday, on the other hand, was said to have grossed P110 million in the box office.

Revilla also justified his millions of savings in the banks, which came from proceeds of his movies and income from commercial endorsements.

“Agimat and Enteng Kabisote earned more than P150 million. Then there’s Idol ko si Kap, Kap’s Amazing Stories, commercials and endorsements,” the senator said.

“I don’t need to steal and have never stolen from government,” Revilla said.

He remained confident that the AMLC’s report would be discredited because of the existence of multiple duplicate entries in the list of his alleged bank accounts.

Criminal intent

AMLC lawyer and bank investigator Vhon Santos, in continuing his testimony against Revilla at the Sandiganbayan yesterday, accused the lawmaker of showing signs of criminal intent in putting millions of pesos in various bank accounts.

Santos, who earlier came out with a report detailing deposits and withdrawals indicative of a money laundering scheme, said Revilla’s closing of the bank accounts just as media was reporting about the pork barrel scam was also suspicious.

Santos said the AMLC looked into some 81 different bank accounts of the Revilla family, which revealed how some P87.628 million came in and out of the accounts from April 6, 2006 to April 28, 2010.

Allegedly, the deposit dates came close to the dates whistle-blower Benhur Luy said that the senator, through his former chief of staff Richard Cambe, received commissions from his PDAF releases to the bogus NGOs of Napoles. – With Michael Punongbayan