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Court enters not guilty plea for Bong Revilla in plunder case


(Updated 3 p.m.) The Sandiganbayan on Thursday entered a not guilty plea for Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. after he refused to enter one himself in the plunder case filed against him in connection with the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations or pork barrel funds. 
 
Alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles and Revilla's aide Richard Cambe, on the other hand, pleaded not guilty.

 
Accused of plunder before the anti-graft court's First Division are Revilla, Napoles, Cambe, Napoles’ nephew Ronald John Lim, and her driver John Raymund de Asis. Lim and De Asis remain at large.

Revilla and his co-accused allegedly received P224.5 million in kickbacks from 2006 to 2010 for funding the ghost projects of Napoles NGOs.

Atty. Joel Bodegon, Revilla's lawyer, explained that his client entered no plea due to ongoing petitions at the Supreme Court to halt the case. 

Aside from the one count of plunder he is facing, Revilla faces 16 counts of graft.

Revilla also refused to enter a plea in any of his graft cases, prompting the court to enter a not guilty plea for him. 
 
Of the 33 accused in the graft and plunder cases filed before the Sandiganbayan First Division, only 12, including Revilla, were arraigned Thursday. The rest of the accused are still at large, while others, like Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary Mario Relampagos and other DBM officials, refused to be arraigned due to pending motions with the anti-graft court to dismiss their case. 
 
Those who pleaded not guilty in the graft charges are the following: 
 
  1. Richard Cambe
  2. Dennis Cunanan
  3. Janet Lim-Napoles
  4. Ma. Rosalinda Lacsamana
  5. Myla Ogerio
  6. Marivic Jover 
  7. Eugelio Rodriguez
  8. Consuelo Espiritu
  9. Evelyn De Leon
  10. Encarnita Munsod
  11. Maria Ninez Guanzino
  12. Gondelina Amata
  13. Chita Jalandoni
  14. Gregoria Buenaventura
  15. Jocelyn Piorato 
 
Co-accused in Revilla’s multiple graft cases are:
 
  • Undersecretary Mario Relampagos of the Department of Budget Management
  • Rosario Nuñez of the Department of Budget Management
  • Lalaine Paule of the Department of Budget Management
  • Marilou Bare of the Department of Budget Management
  • Antonio Ortiz, Director General  of the Technology Resource Center
  • Dennis Cunanan, Deputy Director General of the Technology Resource Center
  • Francisco Figura, Former Group Manager of the Technology Resource Center
  • Ma. Rosalinda Lacsamana, of the Technology Resource Center
  • Marivic Jover of the Technology Resource Center
  • Myla Ogerio
  • Eulogio Rodriguez
  • Laarni Uy
  • Consuelo Lilian Espiritu
  • Evelyn De Leon
  • Allan Javellana
  • Rhodora Mendoza
  • Encarnita Munsod
  • Maria Julie Villaralvo-Johnson
  • Victoria Roman Cacal
  • Maria Nines Guanizo
  • Gondelina Amata
  • Emmanuel Alexis Sevidal
  • Ofelia Ordonez
  • Sofia Cruz
  • Chita Jalandoni
  • Gregoria Buenaventura
  • Jocelyn Piorato
  • Evelyn Sucgang 


The Sandiganbayan also denied the Ombudsman's motion to admit amended Information. The Ombudsman revised parts of the Information to emphasize the role of the public officials charged in the pork barrel cases, saying that they directed the entire scam. —KG/RSJ/JDS, GMA News
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