Sandigan: Bong can’t attend daughter’s graduation

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan denied yesterday a request by detained Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. to attend the graduation of his daughter at De La Salle Zobel in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City today.

In a two-page resolution, First Division chair Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz denied Revilla’s motion for lack of merit.

“It should be stressed that accused Revilla and other accused are charged with the capital offense of plunder, and that because the court had found that the evidence of their guilt is strong, their petitions for bail were denied and that consequently, they continued to be held in detention. Being detention prisoners, just like all other detention prisoners, the accused cannot be allowed the full enjoyment of their rights, be it civil or political,” the resolution read.

The resolution also stated that “in a number of occasions in the past due to exceptional circumstances and for humanitarian considerations, the court had allowed Revilla to undergo medical check-ups and visit his ailing son in the hospital.”

Under similar exceptional circumstances in the future, the anti-graft court said it will not hesitate to grant any motion that may be filed by Revilla or his co-accused to leave their detention cell.

The Sandiganbayan said allowing Revilla to attend his daughter’s graduation “will not only set a bad precedent, but will likewise be regarded as a mockery of the administration of justice.”

Revilla is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame for his alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.

Earlier this month, the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division, chaired by Associate Justice Roland Jurado, granted a request by Revilla’s co-accused, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, to attend his son’s graduation.

Jurado said the court granted Estrada’s request not for the senator, but for the child.

“If Estrada will not be around, that will be traumatic for the child. We are not doing this for Senator Estrada. We’re doing this for the child,” he said during Estrada’s bail hearing.