MANILA, Philippines — The camp of former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. believes that no evidence was presented to link the former lawmaker to the alleged ghost project in Pandi, Bulacan following days of hearings conducted by the Sandiganbayan.
The prosecution presented its last witness in the bail hearing in the malversation through falsification case filed against Revilla and other people last Friday, April 24.
"We will not preempt what the court's assessment will be but we are very confident in our position," Reody Anthony Balisi, one of Revilla's lawyers, said in an interview with reporters.
"From the time that this fiasco happened to the time that he was charged, to the time that he surrendered, to the time that we started the bail hearing, and now, culmination, last day of the bail hearing, what have we been saying ever since? There is no evidence that can link [former] senator Bong Revilla," Balisi said.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed the case before the Sandiganbayan in Jan. 2026. Revilla’s co-accused include Brice Hernandez, Juanito Mendoza, Arjay Domasig, Emelita Juat, Christina Mae Pineda,and Jaypee Mendoza. All of them, except Mendoza, sought bail. The bail hearing started on Apr. 6.
The National Institute for Transparency and Accountability (NITA) cited weaknesses in the case presented by the prosecution.
"There is clear overreliance on one witness, and that is Bernardo. All other testimonies trace back to him," NITA Executive Director Carlos Ayala said in a statement.
Ayala was referring to state witness Roberto Bernardo, former undersecretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, who took the witness stand last Friday.
"Despite allegations involving hundreds of millions, there is a lack of documentary link—no bank records, no receipts, no direct financial trail connecting Revilla to the supposed transactions," Ayala said. “What we saw in court was largely hearsay and
derivative testimony—accounts based on what was told to them, not on personal knowledge.”
"Instead of directly implicating Revilla, the witnesses presented highlighted the gaps in the narrative," he said.
The Sandiganbayan is expected to hand down its ruling in the coming weeks. The court will determine if Revilla will remain in detention or be released on bail.
