Charges vs Bong’s co-accused dropped

The Sandiganbayan First Division has allowed state prosecutors to drop the name of Myla Ogerio among the graft co-accused of detained Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

“Accused Ogerio is hereby dropped from the Information, and these cases are dismissed in so far as she is concerned. The bond posted by the said accused may now be withdrawn,” read the court’s resolution that was signed by its Chairman Efren Dela Cruz and Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos.

With this, the graft court ordered the return of her bail bond and lifting of the hold departure order against her.

Ogerio, who is the daughter-in-law of whistleblower Merlina Sunas, is Revilla’s co-accused in all 16 counts of graft in connection with the pork barrel scam.

In its resolution, graft court granted the prosecution’s motion to drop the name Ogerio from the cases following a reinvestigation conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman.

The reinvestigation was conducted upon the orders of the court which granted Ogerio’s request for an reinvestigation because she claimed that is not an employee in any corporation linked with alleged pork barrel scam brains Janet Lim Napoles and had not participated in any of the questioned transactions.

The prosecution explained that whistleblowers have already stated in their affidavits that Ogerio’s name was used without her knowledge and consent as an incorporator of the Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation Inc., one of the non-government organizations (NGOs) controlled by Napoles and used to divert the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) of lawmakers.