Lawyer: No reason for Revilla to resign

MANILA, Philippines - Rejecting mounting calls for his resignation, the camp of Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. will appeal today the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman indicting those implicated in the pork barrel scam.

Joel Bodegon, Revilla's lawyer, said they will file today a motion for reconsideration to discuss at length and point by point the supposed errors committed by the Office of the Ombudsman when it found probable cause to charge Revilla with plunder along with Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada.

"We are seeking, through this motion for reconsideration, for the Ombudsman to take a very serious look again at evidence on record and resolve to set aside its adverse resolution against Senator Bong Revilla because from all the evidence on record, nothing actually holds Senator Bong Revilla liable for the crimes charged against him," Bodegon said in a phone-patch interview on ANC's Headstart on Monday morning.

Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman announced the filing of plunder charges against the three senators over the alleged embezzlement of their Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to bogus non-government organizations of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

The Ombudsman said it found probable cause to indict the three senators for plunder and multiple counts of graft before the Sandiganbayan for pocketing some P597 million in kickbacks or commissions from their PDAF.

The anti-graft agency also directed the filing of plunder and/or graft cases against Napoles, Enrile’s chief-of-staff Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, Revilla’s chief-of-staff Richard Cambe, Enrile and Estrada’s alleged representative Ruby Tuason, Estrada’s staff Pauline Labayen, Technology Resource Center (TRC) director general Dennis Cunanan, and a number of other government officials and employees of non-government organizations (NGOs).

Following the ombudsman's decision, the people behind last year's massive protest against the pork barrel system called for the immediate resignation of the officials embroiled into the controversy.

The Scrap Pork Network, the organizers of the "Million People March," has initiated an online petition to pressure the senators to step down. The petition has 4,000 supporters as of Monday.

"In the face of overwhelming evidence, we are making an immediate call for the resignation of Senators Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla. This, too, is overdue. In other countries a mere hint of wrongdoing is enough for public officials to resign their posts," the group said in a separate statement.

Read: Enrile, Estrada, Revilla urged to resign

But Bodegon said they are unfazed by these calls as his client is firm to hold on to his post.

"From the beginning, Senator Revilla maintained his innocence from all these charges. He does not find any reason for him to step down. He is elected by the people and he is answerable to the people," Bodegon told ANC.

The lawyer said the calls for his resignation will not affect Revilla's work as an elected lawmaker.

"If you are innocent of the charges, I do not think that you will feel inhibited from performing properly and adequately your functions [of] your elected position. I think that is the situation of Senator Revilla," Bodegon said.

He added that they will seek other legal remedies available to Revilla if their motion for reconsideration is rejected by the ombudsman.

Last Friday, Bodegon also filed an urgent motion before the Supreme Court reiterating his petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the Office of the Ombudsman from proceeding with its criminal proceedings against Revilla. -Louis Bacani

Read: Bong asks SC to stop indictment for plunder