De Lima to Bong: SC could stop 'pork' case but did not

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Leila de Lima shot back at the statement of Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.'s that the Office of the Ombudsman abused its powers in finding probable cause to elevate the plunder charges to the Sandiganbayan.

De Lima said that Joel Bodegon, Revilla's lawyer, has no basis in claiming that the anti-graft body overstepped the Supreme Court where the lawmaker's petition seeking relief from the case is pending.

Also read: Jinggoy hits 'April Fool’s Day operation'

"More than one week na fi-nile ang petisyon na 'yan. There is more than enough time for the Supreme Court to issue a [temporary restraining order] if it wanted to," De Lima said in an interview with dzMM on Wednesday.

De Lima also said that the high court has not yet identified any legal impediment to halt the government's case on the misuse of billions in Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) scam.

On Tuesday, a special panel under the Office of the Ombudsman released resolutions stating probable cause in the plunder cases against the lawmakers, businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and their alleged cohorts.

"Walang temporary restraining order, walang injunction and therefore pwede pong ilabas ang resolution na 'yan," De Lima added.

She explained that evidence submitted by the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation were backed by other evidence independently gathered by the Ombudsman's Field Investigation Office, which recommended the filing of charges.

De Lima also said that the body verified anew the collected proof by visiting the said locations where the PDAF-funded projects were supposedly implemented.

The panel said it found no trace of the launched projects under Napoles' non-government organizations.

"Malakas na malakas ho ang basehan," she said.