Revilla to ask Ombudsman to reconsider ‘pork’ plunder charge

Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. will ask the Office of the Ombudsman to review the plunder charge against him in connection to the controversial pork barrel scam.

In a text message, the senator's legal counsel Joel Bodegon said that the Revilla camp will file a motion for reconsideration on Monday after the Ombudsman indicted Revilla alongside Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada on plunder in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam. 

The Ombudsman's resolution concluded that the senators used their position, in connivance with other high-ranking officials, to allocate their Priority Development Assistance Fund (commonly referred as pork barrel) to non-government organizations linked to detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

Napoles, in police custody over a separate illegal detention charge, has been tagged in media as the "pork barrel scam queen".

The Ombudsman said that Enrile earned P172 million, Revilla got P242 million, and Estrada got P183 million from anomalous projects funded by their PDAF allocations. 

'Abusive' Anti-Money Laundering Council 

Meanwhile, the Revilla camp tagged the Anti-Money Laundering Council's move to freeze the senators' bank accounts and properties as "abusive." 

"Senator Revilla recognizes that there is a law that defines the functions of the AMLC. It does not mean however that such functions should be performed in an abusive or oppressive manner," Bodegon said.

Revilla's lawyer explained that the council should take into account the senator's motion for reconsideration that will be filed on Monday, as well as the upcoming Supreme Court oral arguments on Revilla's inclusion in the Ombudsman's investigation. The court has scheduled the oral arguments for April 22.



Asked for comment, Enrile's media relations officer Lizette Nepomuceno said the Senate minority leader has no statement regarding the issue. He has previously denied involvement in the scam. 

GMA News Online tried to reach Senator Estrada's office but they have yet to respond as of this post. — JDS, GMA News