The Sandiganbayan Third Division entered a not guilty plea for former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. after he refused to enter a plea in his malversation case involving an alleged P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
On Monday morning, Revilla and his co-accused Juanito Mendoza, former finance section chief of the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office, were arraigned before the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division for the non-bailable offense of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents. The charges state that Revilla and others conspired to facilitate the release of approximately P76 million for the supposed construction of a flood control project in Purok 5, Barangay Bansuran in Pandi, Bulacan, which was never implemented based on official inspection and witness accounts.
Revilla refused to enter a plea, so the court entered the not guilty plea for him. His counsel Francesca Señga said Revilla’s refusal means he is maintaining his position questioning the charges filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman. “So he can avail himself of remedies to question the legality of information,” Señga told reporters after the arraignment.
Meanwhile, Mendoza pleaded not guilty. Their arraignment triggered the start of pre-trial, where parties will submit their pre-trial briefs containing the list of evidence and witnesses.
Earlier, their five co-accused in the malversation case also pleaded not guilty: former DPWH engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, Arjay Domasig and Emelita Juat, and DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office cashier Christina Pineda. In a resolution dated Feb. 13, the Sandiganbayan allowed Revilla and Mendoza to appeal before the ombudsman its decision to file a malversation case against them.
