(UPDATE) FORMER senator Bong Revilla, facing charges over a P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Bulacan, was detained at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas upon the order of the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division.
Reports from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said Revilla, who was heavily escorted, arrived at the jail’s male dormitory past 2 p.m. where he would be detained while waiting for a court ruling regarding his request to be transferred to the custodial facility of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame.
He was accompanied by members of his family as well as his legal counsel, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) spokesman Chief Inspector Jayrex Joseph Bustinera said.
The former senator was expected to undergo standard intake procedures for newly admitted detainees, including isolation from the general population for health and security reasons, Bustinera said.
Revilla would then be housed with six male officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who were detained at the same facility in connection with a separate flood control scandal in Oriental Mindoro.
The BJMP said Revilla would be treated like the ordinary detainees, meaning no special treatment, as he would be given the standard P100 daily food allowance, among others.
The Payatas’ jail was deemed more practical for court proceedings as it is located just 10 kilometers from the Sandiganbayan, the BJMP said.
Revilla surrendered to the authorities on Monday, hours after the anti-graft court issued warrants against him and his co-accused.
The former senator’s son, Cavite 1st District Rep. Jolo Revilla, said his surrender was “a deliberate step to confront the accusations head-on and to affirm his faith in our legal institutions.”
“He believes that the proper place to resolve these issues is inside the courtroom, where facts matter and the law speaks louder than speculation,” the congressman said.
Malversation and graft
On Jan. 16, the Office of the Ombudsman charged Revilla and six others with malversation through falsification in connection with the alleged ghost project in Pandi, Bulacan.
The prosecution had recommended no bail.
The Ombudsman also filed a graft case before the Sandiganbayan against Revilla and others in connection with the alleged ghost project.
The court raffled off the two cases on Monday. While the malversation through falsification case went to its third division, the graft case went to its fourth division.
Revilla, accompanied by wife, Cavite 2nd District Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla, posted P90,000 bail in the graft case.
However, he will stay in jail because no bail is available on the malversation case.
In a Facebook post Monday night, Revilla said he would face the charges without fear, because he knew God would not abandon him because he had committed no crime.
Nobody spared
Malacañang on Tuesday assured the public that allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would not be spared from the investigation into flood control projects following Revilla’s surrender.
Speaking to reporters, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the case of Revilla showed Marcos has no sacred cows on corruption investigations linked to anomalous flood control projects.
Revilla, who is facing graft and malversation charges, was part of Marcos’ Senate slate in the 2025 midterm elections but failed to win reelection.
“Of course he (Marcos) was surprised because he’s an ally, but he said several times that even allies must be investigated if necessary,” Castro said.
She said the government might already be halfway toward its goal of jailing all the “big fish” involved in the flood control scandal, following Revilla’s surrender.
“He’s not the beginning. We are probably already halfway,” Castro said.
Castro cited arrests made before Christmas, noting that the Discaya couple were among the “big fish” who have already been issued warrants of arrest and detained.
“They were arrested. Sarah Discaya was arrested and imprisoned before Christmas. So, this is not the initial accountability of the so-called “big fish,” she added.
Castro also reiterated that the president was keen on punishing everyone who was proven involved in the corruption mess, even if they were allies.
She added that Marcos has ordered that due process must be observed in all legal processes.
Separate plunder complaint
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday clarified that Revilla is also facing plunder complaints related to flood control projects that are still under preliminary investigation before the department.
DOJ spokesman Assistant Secretary Polo Martinez said the warrant of arrest against Revilla was issued by the Sandiganbayan following a case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Martinez said the Sandiganbayan case should not be confused with the plunder complaints lodged before the DOJ against Revilla and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada in connection with alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
“The warrant of arrest issued by the Sandiganbayan was prompted by a case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman. That case is different from the plunder complaints currently pending before the DOJ,” Martinez said in an interview.
He explained that the DOJ cases arose from an investigation conducted by a task force formed by the department in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). These cases remain under preliminary investigation, with prosecutors still awaiting the complete submission of evidence from all parties involved.
“As of now, the preliminary investigation has not yet been concluded. Prosecutors have not received all the evidence from both sides,” Martinez said.
Under the law, Martinez said, only after the DOJ completes its preliminary investigation and finds probable cause can cases involving high-ranking officials be referred to the Office of the Ombudsman, which may then file the appropriate charges before the Sandiganbayan.
He also addressed questions on whether the latest case against Revilla could raise issues of double jeopardy, since the former senator was acquitted in a previous graft case years ago.
“This does not fall under double jeopardy,” Martinez said. “The previous case was already resolved, and this present matter involves a completely different set of allegations.”
Encouraged to surrender
Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he had convinced Revilla, his longtime friend, to surrender to authorities.
“He called me yesterday when his electronic warrant came out, I told him it is best for him to surrender,” Remulla said in a press briefing.
Admitting that Revilla’s case has an emotional pull on him since they had been friends for decades, Remulla said he did what he had to do because “duty calls.”
“For the record, [former] senator Revilla and I had long been friends,” Remulla said in English and Filipino. “His son was my vice governor, his son [Ram Revilla] is the vice governor of my niece [Abeng Remulla]. We’ve been lifelong friends ever since the 1980s. But duty calls, and if the Sandiganbayan says to arrest him, the best I can do is to advise him to surrender peacefully.”
Five out of the six suspects along with Revilla are already under government custody.
Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez and former DPWH Construction
Division chief and assistant district engineer Jaypee Mendoza are under Senate custody.
Arjay Salvador Domasig, Cristina May Del Rosario Pineda and Juanito Coronel Mendoza were arrested while Emelita Capistrano Juan remains at large.
Revilla also surrendered 20 firearms since his license to own and possess has been revoked following the release of his arrest order.
