Former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. was placed under temporary detention at the Quezon City Jail–Male Dormitory on Tuesday after a Sandiganbayan division handling a separate charge ruled that he could not yet be released, despite posting bail in one of the cases filed against him.
Revilla paid ₱90,000 bail before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division for a graft case linked to an alleged ₱92.8-million flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan. The project was said to have been reported as completed even though it was never implemented.
His custody, however, was ordered by the Sandiganbayan Special Third Division, which is hearing the malversation case arising from the same project. Malversation of public funds is a non-bailable offense, requiring a separate petition for bail to be granted before provisional liberty can be considered.
The Third Division directed that Revilla be held at the Quezon City Jail after rejecting initial arrangements for detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame. Associate Justice Karl Miranda, who chairs the division, cited a letter from PNP acting chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. stating that the facility is reserved for high-risk detainees such as suspected terrorists and that accommodating Revilla there would strain security resources.
Revilla appeared in court accompanied by his wife, Cavite Second District Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla, and their sons Brian, an Agimat Partylist representative, and Cavite First District Rep. Jolo Revilla. Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla was also present and confirmed that Revilla turned over 20 firearms to authorities.
“The Sandiganbayan will decide where I will be detained. That is not for us to determine,” Revilla said.
Earlier, the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest and hold departure order against Revilla and six co-accused. Prosecutors alleged that the accused conspired to secure the release of about ₱76 million in public funds using falsified accomplishment reports, billing statements, and endorsed disbursement vouchers tied to the Bulacan flood control project, which was awarded in March 2025.
At a separate Senate inquiry, former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Roberto Bernardo testified that he had presented Revilla with a list of projects in 2024 and that the former senator allegedly asked for a “commitment fee” equivalent to 25 percent of project costs. Bernardo said former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara collected roughly ₱125 million, which he claimed was delivered to Revilla’s residence in Cavite. Bernardo and Alcantara have since been admitted as state witnesses.
Revilla’s legal team has filed a motion seeking his transfer to the PNP Custodial Center, which the court set for hearing on Friday, 23 January. Remulla said Revilla would not be accorded special treatment and would remain with the general inmate population wherever the court orders him held.
Five of Revilla’s six co-accused have been arrested, including DPWH cashier Christina Mae del Rosario Pineda, who was apprehended in Buguias, Benguet, and brought back to Central Luzon. Also in custody are former assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez, engineers Jaypee Mendoza and Arjay Domasig, and former finance section chief Juanito Mendoza. Former Bulacan district engineer Emelita Capistrano Juat remains at large.
All the accused face malversation charges, which carry no right to bail.
Reacting to his father’s surrender, Cavite 3rd District Rep. Jolo Revilla said the decision was meant to directly face the allegations. “This is not evasion, but confrontation. He believes that the proper place to resolve these issues is inside the courtroom, where facts matter and the law speaks louder than speculation,” he said.
Separately, lawyer Bam Manahan said there was no due process violation in Revilla’s arrest, noting that the former senator surrendered voluntarily and was taken into custody under a valid Sandiganbayan warrant. Manahan added that Revilla had previously filed counter-affidavits with the Department of Justice denying the accusations related to the Pandi flood control project.
