Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. scored a victory at the Sandiganbayan after the court dismissed the 16 counts of graft filed against him in relation to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.
However, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the plea of Janet Lim-Napoles to have the charges against her dismissed.
In a resolution promulgated on July 1, 2021, the Sandiganbayan Special First Division granted Revilla’s demurrer to evidence and dismissed the 16 counts of graft filed against him for lack of evidence.
The court thus ruled that evidence to pin down Revilla on graft charges was insufficient.
“The glaring absence of evidence proving that Revilla directly received the proceeds from the PDAF projects or any money from accused Napoles that motivated him to give her and her [non-government organizations] unwarranted advantage to the detriment of the government, cannot be ignored by this Court,” the Sandiganbayan said.
“The continued lack of evidence that would prove beyond reasonable doubt accused Revilla’s involvement in these PDAF transactions leads to a conclusion not different from that reached in the plunder case,” it added.
Revilla was accused of receiving kickbacks from Napoles, who formed organizations that allegedly got pork barrel funds from the senator.
