Palace welcomes arrest warrants for senator, 32 others

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MANILA — Malacanang on Friday welcomed the Sandiganbayan First Division’s resolution finding probable cause to indict Senator Ramon Revilla, Jr. and other individuals accused of graft and plunder in connection with the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.

“The issuance of warrants of arrest against Senator Revilla and others implicated in the plunder case pertaining to the alleged misuse of public funds is a significant step forward in the judicial process,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr.

said in a press statement.

Revilla, businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, and 31 others were charged with one count of plunder and 16 counts of graft in a four-page resolution, signed by First Division Chairman Associate Justice Efren de la Cruz on Thursday.

The First Division, in effect, also denied Revilla’s and his co-respondents’ motion to suspend the proceedings, pending separate petitions they have filed before the Supreme Court to stop their prosecution.

Malacanang, meanwhile, reiterated its assurance to all accused of “fair and just trial” during the proceedings.

“We believe that through a fair and just trial, accountability will be clearly established and in like manner, those who are innocent will be exonerated. We join the citizenry in hoping that truth and justice will prevail,” Coloma said.