Ex-Senator Revilla freed on P1-M bail in flood control malversation case

Ex-Senator Revilla freed on P1-M bail in flood control malversation case

CAVITE – Former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. walked out of detention Friday evening after posting a P1-million cash bond, following a Sandiganbayan ruling that prosecutors failed to establish strong evidence of his guilt in a malversation case over an alleged P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Bulacan.

Bacoor-based Revilla was released from the Quezon City Jail at 6:14 p.m., according to jail officials . Hours earlier, the anti-graft court’s Third Division granted his bail petition in a 107-page resolution, ruling that the prosecution did not meet the threshold required to deny bail in a non-bailable offense.

The Sandiganbayan set Revilla’s bail at P1 million, which he posted through Official Receipt No. JEPS-2026-000179958 . The court ordered his provisional release “unless he is being held on another legal ground” .

The charges stem from an alleged anomalous flood control project in Barangay Bunsuran, Pandi, Bulacan. Prosecutors accused Revilla, then chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Works during the 19th Congress, of facilitating the project’s inclusion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act and receiving kickbacks from its P76.9-million allocation paid to SYMS Construction Trading .

The court noted that the money allegedly received by Revilla came from private contractors and “had not yet assumed the character of public funds” at the time of receipt . It also found “no proof that Revilla had agreed with his co-accused to commit malversation” .

However, the court denied bail for Revilla’s six co-accused — former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office — citing strong evidence against them .

In a sharp dissent, Third Division Chairperson Associate Justice Karl Miranda called the majority ruling “difficult to justify,” arguing that Revilla — who allegedly “personally benefited from the scheme” — was granted provisional liberty while his co-accused remained incarcerated . Miranda maintained that the evidence should be viewed within the context of the alleged DPWH “kalakaran” or kickback scheme, where contractors advance “commitments” to project proponents and later recoup these from public funds .

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the Office of the Ombudsman respects the court’s ruling but will “exhaust all remedies to highlight the basis for which we can say that the evidence of guilt is indeed strong” .

The Sandiganbayan stressed its ruling was limited to the issue of bail and did not determine Revilla’s guilt or innocence. The criminal case will proceed to trial .

Revilla had been detained since January, when he surrendered to authorities following the filing of charges . He had earlier posted P90,000 bail for a separate graft case arising from the same project .