‘Medyo nagbabalot-balot na,’ Bong Revilla says of ex-colleague Jinggoy

Detained former Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. is confident his ex-colleague, Jinggoy Estrada, will be allowed to post bail in his plunder case involving the alleged pork barrel scam.

“Speechless ako, parang siyempre, I’m happy for him,” Revilla said in an interview with reporters after his trial before the Sandiganbayan on Thursday. "Nalulungkot ako dahil iiwan na 'ko ni Senator Jinggoy... Medyo nagbabalot-balot na [siya]."

Estrada, meanwhile, denied that he was already packing up to leave detention.

"Hindi ako nagliligpit. No movement," he said in a statement sent to reporters.

Both Revilla and Estrada are detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame.

The Sandiganbayan is set to rule on the appeal of Estrada to allow him to post bail for plunder, where he cited the prosecution’s supposed failure to present evidence of his guilt and the negative effects of continued detention on his well-being.

The prosecution, however, argued that the motion should be denied since Estrada's earlier bail petition has been ruled with finality, saying plunder is a non-bailable offense and that his omnibus motion is "nothing more than a second motion for reconsideration."

Asked if he will file a same motion for his case, Revilla replied that he is leaving their next legal move to his lawyers.

"I will leave that to my lawyers pero siguro naman, gagawin din namin 'yan tulad kay Senator Jinggoy, a second petition for bail. Kaya naniniwala pa rin naman akong merong hustisya sa bansa," he said.

Revilla is facing plunder and graft charges for allegedly pocketing P224.5 million in kickbacks after channeling his pork barrel, or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), allocations to the bogus non-government organizations linked to alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

Transaction reports

During Thursday's trial at the First Division, the prosecution brought Eduardo Roldan to the witness stand to testify on Revilla's alleged multiple fictitious accounts at the Asia United Bank (AUB) worth more than P42 million.

Roldan, AUB bank officer for anti-money laundering compliance, identified several bank accounts owned by Revilla, his wife Lani Mercardo Revilla, and their son Leonard Bryan Bautista. He identified the Revilla couple through their real names Jose Marie Bautista and Jesusa Hernandez Bautista.

However, Roldan, when questioned by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, said he only made a suspicious transaction report on the accounts pertaining to Revilla.

He likewise admitted that the AUB only conducted a transaction report on the alleged fictitious accounts of Revilla when news broke out on the scheme.

"You mean to say you only filed the suspicious transaction report when news broke out [on the PDAF scam]," Econg said.

"Yes," Roldan replied, which drew the attention of the defense.

The defense had earlier opposed the prosecution's roster of bank officers saying it violates the bank secrecy law. The Sandiganbayan, nonetheless, allowed the witnesses to proceed in their testimony. —KBK, GMA News