Revilla says he’ll give up all of his wealth if it’s proven ill-gotten

Detained Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr on Tuesday said he is willing to give up his entire fortune if the prosecution can prove that his riches were ill-gotten.

“Ibibigay ko lahat ng kayamanan ko kung mapapatunayan n’yo at makakapaglabas kayo ng ebidensiya. Alalahanin nyo, kahit singkong duling ay wala pa kayong napapatunayan na ninakaw ko,” Revilla said in a press statement emailed by his office.

“Gusto nyo ngayon garnishments sa aking mga ari-arian na pinaghirapan kong ipundar sa mahabang panahon ng aking pag-aartista,” he added.

Government prosecutors earlier asked the Sandiganbayan First Division to secure P224 million worth of Revilla's assets, equivalent to the amount that he has been accused of receiving as kickbacks from the pork barrel scam, pending the resolution of the plunder case filed against him.

Revilla dismissed the motion filed by the prosecutors as premature, as the court has yet to rule on his petition for bail.

“I have not been proven guilty by the Sandiganbayan and yet the lawyers of the Ombudsman are now moving heaven and earth to garnish my assets, which are the legitimate fruits of my labor as an action star of more than 20 years,” the senator said.

Revilla said that the move was an attempt to divert attention from Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) investigator Leigh Von Santos' testimony.

“The cross examination on Atty. Santos clearly showed that the prosecution has no evidence that will show that the deposits in my bank accounts came from Janet Lim-Napoles. Even star witness Benhur Luy admitted that he does not know me personally, and that we never met or talked to each other, and that he never transacted business with me,” Revilla said.

He said the prosecutors fear that the court would allow him to post bail because the case against him is weak.

Jinggoy: I'm next

For his part, detained Senator Jinggoy Estrada expects that the prosecutors would seek a writ of preliminary attachment against him next.

“I am expecting that the government prosecutors will do the same against me. I believe that such action would be premature as the case is still ongoing and so far the prosecution panel has not presented strong evidence against me to warrant such request,” Estrada said in an emailed press statement.

“I think that there is no valid ground under the Rules of Court for which such request could be anchored,” he added.

He said that he does not intend to leave the country as he is currently under detention and there is no showing that he disposed some properties.

“I feel that this is part of their continued effort to harass and persecute me and my colleagues in relation to this alleged PDAF scam,” Estrada said.

The senator reiterated that he is innocent of the charges leveled against him and denied that he received kickbacks from his PDAF allocations.

“All my properties and assets are properly and regularly declared in my Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth, which the Ombudsman is free to scrutinize any time,” he said.

Revilla and Estrada are detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame. They, together with Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, who is detained at the PNP General Hospital, are facing plunder and graft charges in connection with the pork barrel scam. — BM, GMA News