Senator Joel Villanueva and former Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla, Jr. filed their counter-affidavits yesterday against complaints filed against them in relation to alleged ghost flood control projects in Bulacan.
Lawyer Francesca Señga, Revilla’s spokesperson, told reporters that said complaints were baseless.
“He filed his counter-affidavit to directly address the baseless allegations raised against him… The complaint is based on incredible and incompetent evidence. In fact, it is based on hearsay and it comes from an incredible, unbelievable, and unreliable source,” she said.
She added that a complaint cannot be based on allegations that do not show the acts and omissions constituting the elements of the crimes charged.
Señga claimed that the filing seems to cause harassment and inconvenience to the former senator such that it must not be entertained.
Lawyer Ramon Esguerra, Villanueva’s counsel, said their counter-affidavit contains “factual and legal refutation” of accusations that are supported by sworn affidavits, official records, and documentary evidence.
“The counter-affidavit clearly establishes that there is absolutely no proof whatsoever that Senator Villanueva received any amount of money from flood control projects or any government projects,” he said.
Justice spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez said that Revilla and Villanueva are respondents in 2 cases involving 2 different projects.
“The scheduled hearings for preliminary investigation today pertain to cases involving either WAWAO Builders or Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc. for projects in Bulacan 1st DEO reported as “100% completed” but were either grossly deficient or completely non-existent,” he said.
He added that among the charges include direct bribery, corruption of public officials, malversation through falsification as well as violations of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“As previously discussed, this is different from the original 5 cases involving SYMS Construction Trading. Those 5 cases have all already been referred to the Ombudsman, the records of which have all already been transmitted to said office,” said Martinez.
