Detained former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. will not be permitted to leave custody to pay respects at the wake of his brother, the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division has ruled, citing the gravity of the charges he is facing and the security burden such a trip would impose.
Revilla had asked the anti-graft court for an urgent furlough so he could appear at the June 27 or 28 wake of Jojo Manungas Bautista in Imus, Cavite. Attached to that request were conditions the former senator proposed: that he be allowed to attend out of his detention uniform and under escort by Bureau of Jail Management and Penology personnel.
The justices were unmoved. “The situation presented by accused Revilla could not be considered an emergency or a compelling circumstance that warrants an exception to the general rules imposed on a detained accused,” read the resolution penned by Associate Justice Karl Miranda.
The court drew a line between personal grief and the legal threshold required to release a high-profile detainee. “While the loss of a sibling is a distinct tragedy, the justification presented by accused Revilla does not rise to the level of an exceptional ground required to override the court’s primary duty of maintaining secure custody over the accused, particularly considering the seriousness of the charges against him,” the ruling stated.
Beyond the legal reasoning, the division raised practical and public-perception concerns, warning that granting the motion would “strain the security capabilities and personnel of the BJMP.” The court added that approving it would “unduly create an impression on the public that the accused, being a former high-ranking public official, is a favored detainee over and above other similarly situated detainees.”
Dated June 26 and released to reporters this Tuesday, the resolution disposed of the furlough motion Revilla’s camp had filed that same day.
Revilla is being held on a non-bailable malversation charge tied to a P92.8 million flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan, that investigators say existed only on paper despite being reported as finished. He has consistently rejected any role in the alleged scheme, and a separate petition seeking his release on bail is still awaiting action from the same division.
