Bong Revilla asks SC for provisional liberty anew

Former Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. has again asked the Supreme Court to grant him provisional liberty pending the resolution of his plea for a restraining order on the court proceedings in connection with his alleged role in the pork barrel scam.

In a March 16 manifestation and urgent motion for interim measures, Revilla, currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, also asked the SC to set his earlier petition for certiorari for oral arguments.

"In the instant case, the petitioner has been in the 'game' not just with one arm tied to his back but with both eyes completely blinded," Revilla's motion read.

Revilla also reiterated his prayer for the SC to issue a writ of preliminary injunction or an order restraining further proceedings in his plunder case, particularly those for the reception of his evidence.

He also asked the tribunal to require the Sandiganbayan to comment and himself to reply to the anti-graft court's pleading.

The SC on February 6 moved to "defer action" on Revilla's January 11 petition and January 31 manifestation and urgent motion, as it noted his urgent motion for his pleading to be included in the tribunal's January 23 full court session agenda.

Revilla said that while the SC had yet to act on his petition, the Sandiganbayan had proceeded with the trial, compelling him to present evidence of defense on the 5,134 pieces of evidence that the anti-graft court admitted last year.

These pieces of evidence, Revilla claimed, did not clearly identify the "overt" and "criminal" acts that led to his alleged acquisition of ill-gotten wealth.

"Given these injudicious circumstances, petitioner was constrained to give up several trial dates out of the sixty dates allowed by the Sandiganbayan for him to present evidence and he is already in peril of losing all the dates allowed for his defense," the motion said.

Of the three former lawmakers charged in the pork barrel fund scam, Revilla is the only one left in detention.

Former Senator Jinggoy Estrada was provisionally set free in 2017, while former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has been out on bail since 2015.

Revilla has been in jail since June 20, 2014, or for 1,371 days as of March 16, according to his motion. —KBK, GMA News