Mar: Don’t divert issue, twist truth

MANILA, Philippines - Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II advised Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. yesterday not to divert the issue, and to stop twisting the truth and deceiving the public.

“Naiintindindihan ko kung bakit galit si  Sen. Bong Revilla sa mundo. Mahirap ang sitwasyon niya na may COA documents at testigong nagpapatunay ng koneksyon niya sa Napoles scam. Pero hindi solusyon sa problema niya ang paglilihis ng isyu, pagbaluktot sa katotohanan at panloloko ng tao (I understand why Sen. Revilla is mad at the world. He is in a very difficult situation because there are Commission on Audit documents and witnesses proving his connection to the pork barrel scam. But his problem won’t be solved by diverting the issue, nor by twisting the truth and fooling the people),” Roxas said in a statement.

In his speech, Revilla detailed how Roxas facilitated a meeting between him and President Aquino allegedly to seek his support on the impeachment of then chief justice Renato Corona.

But Roxas said it was Revilla who requested the meeting with the President, which he claimed would be about the cityhood of Bacoor, Cavite.

“It is natural for the President to meet with high-ranking officials of the government. Sen. Bong and I were former colleagues in the Senate, that is why when he told me that there was something he wished to take up with the President, including the cityhood of Bacoor and his leadership of the Lakas party, I made a way for them to meet,” Roxas said.

He advised Revilla to simply answer the issue raised by witnesses on the pork barrel scam.

It would be best for Revilla to explain the documents manifesting his involvement in the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund or the congressional pork barrel, Roxas said.

He also denied Revilla’s claim that he deliberately removed the number 6 license plate from his car, that he took the wheel and made Revilla hide so the guards would not see him.

“At that time, the President was not in Malacañang but in Bahay Pangarap. In line with the regulations of the Presidential Security Group and so as not to cause any trouble to Sen. Bong, I was the one who drove the vehicle going to Bahay Pangarap,” Roxas said.

He said he does not use a special plate for his vehicle – not the “6” plate for a Cabinet member or the “7” plate when he was a senator and “8” as a congressman.