Sandiganbayan rejects request to amend Bong’s charge sheets

Sen. Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. with wife Lani Mercado face the public on the night before he surrenders to PNP. Screenshot of Solar News footage.

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan denied the government prosecutors’ petition to amend some information on the charge sheet for the plunder case filed against Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and four other respondents.

“Formal amendments” filed in the original information filed by the government prosecutors, however, were allowed by Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz, chair of the anti-graft court’s 1st Division.

The case was filed against Revilla and four others including his legislative staff Richard Cambe, businesswoman Janet Napoles, John Raymund de Asis and Reynald Lim.

The prosecution wanted to delete the phrase “enabling Napoles to misappropriate PDAF (priority development assistance fund) proceeds for her personal gain.”

Joel Bodegon, Revilla’s lawyer made an oral motion for Revilla’s release arguing that the amendment of the original information will nullify the arrest warrant against his client.

The prosecution, however, maintained that the said  “amendment does not charge any offense but the crime of plunder.”

Revilla’s camp is still waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision on the petition they filed seeking the review of the Ombudsman’s findings on the pork barrel case.

“We would want the Supreme Court to take a second look at our judicial determination of probable cause,” Bodegon said.