Sandiganbayan grants Bong Revilla bail in malversation case

BONG. Former senator Ramon 'Bong' Revilla Jr is escorted by BJMP personnel out of the Sandiganbayan after the deferment of his arraignment, on January 23, 2026. Jire Carreon/Rappler (1s UPDATE) The court grants Revilla's request due to the 'failure of the prosecution to establish strong evidence of guilt' MANILA, Philippines — The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan granted the bail request of former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., the court’s 3rd Division confirmed on Friday, July 31. The anti-graft court’s 3rd Division chaired by Associate Justice Karl Miranda granted Revilla’s bail in a resolution made public on Friday. This is a case related to the P92.8-million alleged ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan. “Grant the bail application of accused Ramon Bautista ‘Bong’ Revilla, Jr. for failure of the prosecution to establish strong evidence of guilt, insofar as it pertains to the charge of malversation through falsification of public documents, during the bail hearings and in view of existing jurisprudence,” read part of the resolution. “Order the provisional release of accused Ramon Bautista “Bong” Revilla, Jr. upon posting of a cash bond of Php1,000,000.00 in line with the ruling in Enrile v. Sandiganbayan (Third Division) unless he is being held for some other legal ground,” it added. Revilla and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, including former engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza, were charged in January with graft and malversation over the alleged ghost project. The graft case is pending with the Sandiganbayan’s 4th Division, while the malversation case is with the 3rd Division. Since Revilla’s other case is bailable, he will be released from detention once he posts bail. Upon his arrest in January, Revilla posted bail for graft, but he remained detained because the other case for malversation is non-bailable. For non-bailable charges, an accused may file a petition for bail like in Revilla’s case. Revilla and the former DPWH officials were indicted by the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly conspiring to release P76 million from the P92.8-million Bulacan flood project that was never implemented. Prior to the indictment, state witness and former DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara claimed that Revilla had P300 million in budget insertions in 2024. These were for flood control projects in Bulacan. Another state witness, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, had alleged that Revilla received kickbacks from flood control projects. Apart from admitting that he personally delivered money to Revilla’s residence in Cavite, Bernardo also said Revilla’s “commitment” or alleged kickback was at 25%. Majority decision Here’s how the justices voted: Chair Karl Miranda – deny all petitions for bail Associate Justice Ronald Moreno – Grant Revilla, deny everyone else’s Associate Justice Fritz Bryn Anthony delos Santos – Grant Revilla, deny everyone else’s While the court granted Revilla’s petition, it however denied the requests of the following since the division found that the evidence of guilt against them is strong: Brice Ericson Diaz Hernandez Jaypee de Leon Mendoza Arjay Salvador Domasig Emelita Capistrano Juat Juanito Coronel Mendoza Christina Mae Del Rosario Pineda All three justices agreed that the bail petition of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan 1st District should be denied. They said that prosecution was able to present evidence in relation to allegedly unlawful disbursement of P76.9 million to contractor SYMS Trading despite absence of a visible slope structure in the area. The DPWH had tagged this project as 95.17% completed. “In particular, accused from DPWH-Bulacan 1st DEO facilitated the processing of necessary supporting documents for the disbursement of funds to SYMS,” said Miranda’s concurring and dissenting opinion. However, Miranda dissented on the decision that Revilla should be granted bail because he believes that the prosecution was able to present strong evidence against him. He explained that Revilla’s alleged acts may only be appreciated when contextualized in the “kalakaran” or corruption practices inside the DPWH. Miranda explained that the DPWH project would not have been included in the national budget law if not for the following reasons: Revilla’s allocation provided by former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan Revilla’s request from former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo for the list of projects for “allocation” Engineer Alcantara’s “transmittal of the list of projects to Undersecretary Bernardo, which list included the subject project, as part of projects for funding from Revilla’s allocation” Bernardo’s transmittal of the list of projects for funding from Revilla’s allocation to Bonoan and late DPWH undersecretary Cathy Cabral Revilla’s follow-up with Bernardo, Bonoan, and Cabral for the inclusion of projects “The testimonies of Undersecretary Bernardo, Engineer Alcantara, Engineer. Opulencia, and the drivers and aides of Undersecretary Bernardo strongly suggest that commitments have been collected for projects in the 2025 GAA [General Appropriations Act] in which Revilla acted as the proponent,” Miranda argued. “There is likewise strong evidence that these commitments were subsequently delivered to Revilla, in his White House Compound in Cavite, in the first quarter of 2025,” he added. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading