REVILLA, ESTRADA TRIALS CONTINUE

BY MA. REINA LEANNE C. TOLENTINO

over the plunder case. Defendants may post bail over graft cases in the amount of P30,000 per count).

“I deny all the allegations against me,” he told reporters in September. “I did not steal anything from the people.”

Also in September, the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division started against Estrada and other individuals in connection with the PDAF scam. The pretrial of the cases was terminated in May as the prosecu marking the evidence that they intended to present during trial.

The same division started trying in October the P183-million plun - eral other individuals. The pretrial in this case was terminated in April.

In November, the Sandiganbayan’s Special Fifth Division stood pat on its ruling that allowed Estrada to post bail over the plunder case. “[ F] or failure of the prosecution to present sufficient evidence to identify the mastermind/ main actor of the whole plunder scheme, who had amassed ill-gotten wealth and who the grant of the application for bail is in order,” the court said in part in a resolution promulgated on Nov. 10, where it denied for lack of merit the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration.

Revilla and Estrada are two of three former senators, including Juan Ponce Enrile, charged in 2014 with plunder for the alleged misuse of their PDAF.

million plunder case and 15 counts of graft against Enrile, who is out on bail after the Supreme Court granted in 2015 his bail petition on humanitarian grounds. The cases filed against him are pending before the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division.