Senator Bong Revilla (center) consoles his son, Cavite Vice Governor Jolo Revilla, at the Asian Hospital on Tuesday. The elder Revilla was allowed by the court to visit his son who sustained a gunshot wound on Saturday. Also in the picture is Sen. Revilla’s wife, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado (right).(MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) — Four Cavite properties of detained Senator Ramon ”Bong” Revilla Jr. were garnished by the Sandiganbayan Sheriff in connection with his pork barrel scam cases.
In a report by the court sheriff to the First Division, two properties in Tagaytay City and two more in Silang have been garnished.
Two 125-square meter lots under the name “Bong Revilla married to Lani Mercado” were garnished in Tagaytay City.
In Silang Cavite, two more lots measuring 10,191 square meters and 14,834 square meters under the name “Jose Marie Bautista married to Jesusa Victoria Hernandez” were also garnished.
Other properties, which were not garnished because they were not ascertained to be owned by the Revillas, were also reported by the court sheriff.
These properties include a 443-square meter house with a 13-square meter guard house in Bacoor, Cavite, a Fuso Jitney, and shares at The Riviera Golf Club.
The anti-graft court earlier ordered the garnishment of P224.5 million worth of Revilla’s properties.
The assets include multiple bank accounts, real properties, shares of stocks as well as vehicles.
The writ prevents Revilla, his relatives, or his agents from selling, transferring, or disposing of the assets.
The Sandiganbayan gets temporary custody of the assets pending the final resolution of the plunder case.
The writ aims to ensure that the government will recover Revilla’s alleged ill-gotten wealth from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” allocations, according to prosecutors.
The list of assets that prosecutors wanted frozen include Revilla’s money in 44 bank accounts, 28 real estate properties, 15 motor vehicles, five stock holdings in 3 firms, club shares, and investments in private companies.
Revilla is accused of pocketing P224 million from his PDAF allocations. He was charged with 16 counts of graft for alleged unlawful transactions totaling P517 million PDAF channeled through his office.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council earlier said large amounts of money from many of Revilla’s bank accounts were withdrawn shortly after the PDAF scam controversy became public. (MNS)