DETAINED Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. has petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the anti-graft court from conducting further proceedings on the plunder and graft cases filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with his alleged misuse of his pork barrel for violating his right to due process.
In a petition he filed through his counsel Estelito Mendoza, Revilla also asked the high court to order his provisional release from jail while the high court resolves his case.
He said the proceedings before the Sandiganbayan violates his constitutional right to due process, to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusations against him, ato have an impartial trial and to meet the witnesses against him face to face.
In particular, Revilla assailed the Sandiganbayan’s order issued on Dec. 7, 2017 denying his motion to file a demurrer to evidence, which would have sought the dismissal of his plunder case, as well as its Dec. 28, 2017 resolution denying his motion for reconsideration.
In its ruling, the anti-graft court instead directed Revilla to submit evidence that would disprove the allegations against him.
But Revilla also questioned the resolution of the Sandiganbayan dated Feb. 23, 2017 denying his motion to quash the case as well as his motion for reconsideration.
He accused the Sandiganbayan of committing grave abuse of discretion for allegedly failing to perform its constitutional duty to enforce his rights that resulted in his continued detention in the past four years.
He said the prosecution had failed to offer any evidence to show that he or his representative personally received at least P224 million in kickbacks or commissions from alleged pork-barrel- scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.
“In the instant case, the petitioner has been in the game not just with one arm tied to his hack but with both eyes completely blinded,” Revilla said.
He said his petition for demurrer of evidence should have been granted due to the prosecution’s failure to present evidence linking him to the pork- barrel scam.