Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Kaxandra Salonga

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177060135925720260209-sandiganbayan-flood-control-case-revilla-MT7.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Senator Ramon &quot;Bong&quot; Revilla Jr. arrives at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Monday, February 9, 2026, for his scheduled arraignment. Revilla is joined by his co-accused in connection with graft and corruption charges linked to anomalous &quot;ghost  flood control projects&quot; in Bulacan. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p><strong></strong>MANILA<strong> (4th UPDATE) </strong>— The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division on Monday entered a not guilty plea for former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. after he refused to enter a plea for graft in connection to the alleged P92.8 million ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.</p><p>Revilla’s counsel Franchesca Señga said the former senator declined to enter a plea to uphold the reasons cited in their motion to quash the information, which the court previously denied.</p><p>“Kinukwestyon [namin] yung legality or validity of the information. So we’re just maintaining that position,” Señga told reporters after the arraignment.</p><p>Revilla’s camp repeatedly claimed the former senator was denied due process on the grounds that he was not given the opportunity to respond to the updated resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman, which named him as a respondent to the cases.</p><p>They also argued that the former senator was not an accountable officer and that the allegations in the information did not constitute an offense.</p><p>The court’s Third Division earlier dismissed his camp’s arguments, saying all the elements for the offenses were sufficiently alleged in the information and Revilla could still be held liable despite not being an accountable officer as he was alleged to have conspired with other accountable officers to divert millions in funds for the project.</p><p>It added that the Ombudsman is not precluded from filing charges different from those initially indicated in the preliminary investigation.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DPWH BULACAN 1ST DEO OFFICIALS ENTER NOT GUILTY PLEAS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office officials Engr. Arjay Domasig and Juanito Mendoza pleaded not guilty to graft.</p><p>Earlier, other accused, including Assistant District Engr. Brice Hernandez, Engr. Jaypee Mendoza, Engr. Emelita Juat, and Christina Pineda, had also entered not guilty pleas.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/5/sandiganbayan-rejects-bong-revilla-s-bid-to-be-detained-in-camp-crame-1724">Sandiganbayan rejects Bong Revilla’s bid to be detained in Camp Crame</a></div><p>All accused—apart from Revilla and Juanito Mendoza—previously pleaded not guilty before the Sandiganbayan Third Division, which is hearing their malversation case.</p><p>Revilla and Mendoza’s arraignment schedule was reset to Feb. 16 after their counsels filed separate motions for reconsideration following the denial of their earlier motions.</p><p>In response to claims that the pending motions were being used to delay proceedings, Señga said the defense was only exhausting all available legal remedies in accordance with his rights as an accused.</p><p>“Sinusundan po namin ang tamang proseso at  ginagamit lang po namin ang lahat ng maaaring magamit na proseso nang naaayon sa kanyang karapatan bilang akusado,” Señga said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/21/bong-revilla-tried-but-failed-to-bring-clothes-gadgets-into-qc-jail-bjmp-1227">Bong Revilla tried but failed to bring clothes, gadgets into QC Jail: BJMP</a></div><p>On Feb. 27, the accused will undergo pre-trial, during which the parties are expected to mark pieces of evidence to be used in court.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DEFENSE SEEKS JUDGE’S INHIBITION<br/><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770608917755viber_image_2026-02-09_09-09-22.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Senator Ramon &quot;Bong&quot; Revilla Jr. arrives at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Monday, February 9, 2026, for his scheduled arraignment. Revilla is joined by his co-accused in connection with graft and corruption charges linked to anomalous &quot;ghost  flood control projects&quot; in Bulacan. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></strong></div><div><br/></div><p>On Feb. 8, the court received a motion for inhibition filed by Revilla’s camp against Associate Justice Karl Miranda, citing alleged conflict of interest.</p><p>A motion for inhibition is a request for a judge or prosecutor to disqualify themselves from handling a case due to question on their impartiality or conflict of interest.</p><p>“Nakalagay sa rules na hindi ka lang dapat impartial. Hindi ka lang dapat walang kinikilingan… ipakita mo na may impression ka rin na wala kang kinikilingan. So isa yan sa mga grounds,” Señga told reporters.</p><p>In earlier proceedings, Miranda disclosed that his brother, Buenaventura Miranda, had served as counsel for former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo during Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings.</p><p>Revilla was implicated in the controversy after Bernardo alleged that he received kickbacks in exchange for endorsing flood control projects.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/14/bernardo-tags-more-officials-in-flood-control-kickbacks-1540">Ex-DPWH exec Bernardo tags more officials in flood control mess</a></div><p>Miranda acknowledged the defense’s right to file the motion but maintained there are no valid grounds for his mandatory inhibition. He said he has openly disclosed his associations and adhered to judicial ethics throughout his 40-year career in public service. </p><p>Moreover, the Associate Justice noted that the cases were assigned to their division through a raffle.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>COUNSELS SLAMMED FOR INTEMPERATE LANGUAGE</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770608931995viber_image_2026-02-09_09-09-31.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Senator Ramon &quot;Bong&quot; Revilla Jr. arrives at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Monday, February 9, 2026, for his scheduled arraignment. Revilla is joined by his co-accused in connection with graft and corruption charges linked to anomalous &quot;ghost  flood control projects&quot; in Bulacan. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>Miranda also warned the accused’s counsels against using intemperate language in their motions, in which they claimed the court “turned a blind eye,” acted with “obscene haste,” and issued the warrant of arrest “just an hour after the raffle of cases.”</p><p>The associate justice noted that, as a result, two broadsheet publications and statements by Lorna Kapunan, a lawyer not involved in the case, echoed the counsel’s claims and were being “mouthed” by supporters of the accused.</p><p>Revilla’s counsel Isaiah Asuncion III apologized to Miranda, who reminded all lawyers of their duty to only tell truthful statements to the court and the public.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>EARLIER MOTIONS DENIED</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The court earlier denied Revilla’s bid to be transferred to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame.</p><p>In a resolution promulgated on Feb. 5, it ruled that Revilla will remain at the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory after the former senator expressed security concerns over gang-related violence in the Quezon City Jail in Payatas, where he is detained along with four other male co-accused.</p><p>It also denied the motion to commit Juat to the Bulacan Police Provincial Office, noting the BJMP facilities have a negative congestion rate, are nearest to the anti-graft court, and have sufficient security measures for the safekeeping of all accused.</p><p>The court also denied his camp’s bid to quash the warrant of arrest, arguing that it already made an independent review of the case records and determined probable cause before ordering its issuance.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/19/sandiganbayan-releases-arrest-warrants-for-revilla-6-dpwh-bulacan-officials-1838">Sandiganbayan releases arrest warrants for Revilla, 6 DPWH Bulacan officials</a></div><p>It rejected Revilla and Mendoza’s motion for leave of court to file motions for reconsideration and reinvestigation before the Ombudsman, saying it would only delay the proceedings and prejudice the accused who are currently detained for a non-bailable offense.</p><p>Furthermore, the court denied Juanito Mendoza’s earlier bid to consolidate the malversation case with the graft case pending before the Fourth Division, arguing that merging the cases would only cause a delay and “disarray” in the proceedings.</p><p>Revilla was previously acquitted of plunder charges over the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS: </strong><strong><br/></strong></div><div><iframe width="1200" height="675" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XgyI2Tre7yU" title="&#x27;Wala akong kasalanan dito&#x27;: Bong Revilla on arrest warrant | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="1201" height="675" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2ON_DWv_oBA" title="DOJ explains malversation, plunder case vs Revilla over flood control projects | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>Ex-Sen. Bong Revilla was tagged in the flood control mess after former DPWH Usec. Roberto Bernardo claimed he received kickbacks in exchange for endorsing flood control projects.</p>

Ex-Sen. Bong Revilla was tagged in the flood control mess after former DPWH Usec. Roberto Bernardo claimed he received kickbacks in exchange for endorsing flood control projects.

Sandiganbayan enters not guilty plea for Revilla for graft over 'ghost' flood control project

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Sandiganbayan enters not guilty plea for Revilla for graft over 'ghost' flood control project

Kaxandra Salonga,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 09, 2026 08:55 AM PHT

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Updated Feb 09, 2026 05:00 PM PHT

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Bong Revilla

Sandiganbayan

flood control

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