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Bong Revilla says not seeking presidency despite being floated as Lakas-CMD candidate

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Senator Bong Revilla. Alex Nueva España, Senate PRIB file" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/tvpatrol/10/17/20200701-revilla-senate-necro-service-ho-7032.jpeg"/><figcaption>Senator Bong Revilla. Alex Nueva España, Senate PRIB file</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - Senator Ramon &quot;Bong&quot; Revilla Jr. on Sunday said he is not interested in seeking the presidency despite being floated as a possible candidate of his Lakas-CMD party. Revilla issued the statement following reports that his partymate Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay was urging him to be its standard bearer, as Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has no intention of running for president. &quot;I am honored by the trust and confidence of the Party and our kababayans, but I have no intention (running for the Presidency),&quot; Revilla said. On Oct. 8, Anna Capella Velasco and Lyle Fernando Uy filed certificates of candidacy for president and vice president under Lakas-CMD, the political party of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.Pichay initially admitted to ABS-CBN News that the two candidates were just &quot;placeholders&quot; as the party had yet to decide who to field for President. He later <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/12/21/pichay-denies-saying-lakas-cmd-fielding-2022-elections-placeholders">denied</a> saying that their relatively unknown candidates were placeholders, saying he didn&#x27;t understand the word placeholder. Revilla was acquitted of plunder in 2018, over his alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/07/18/bong-revilla-cleared-of-plunder-in-pork-barrel-scam-case">Bong Revilla cleared of plunder in pork barrel scam case</a></li></ul>Two of his co-accused, businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and Revilla&#x27;s former chief-of-staff Richard Cambe, were found guilty of plunder by the anti-graft court. In July this year, Revilla was also acquitted of graft charges related to the pork barrel scam. His lawyer said that despite the report from the Anti-Money Laundering Council showing P87 million in deposits entering his family’s bank accounts from 2006 to 2010, the prosecution failed to establish that Revilla received PDAF kickbacks.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/06/21/bong-revilla-sandiganbayan-acquittal-prosecution-fail">Prosecution’s &#x27;neglect&#x27; to prove Revilla&#x27;s unexplained wealth was key to his acquittal: lawyer</a></li></ul>Pichay meanwhile was acquitted of graft earlier this year in a case stemming from his sponsorship of a chess match during his term in the Local Water Utilities Administration.

Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. on Sunday said he is not interested in seeking the presidency despite being floated as a possible candidate of Lakas-CMD. 