Palace: Respect Sandiganbayan decision
Published Dec 7, 2018 02:30 pm
By Argyll Cyrus Geducos
Malacañang urged the public to respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan to clear former Senator Bong Revilla of plunder in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam case he was involved in 2013.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after the Sandiganbayan acquitted Revilla, saying the prosecution failed to prove that the former action star was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The Sandiganbayan, however, found pork barrel scam mastermind Janel Lim Napoles and Revilla's former chief-of-staff Richard Cambe guilty. Panelo, in a statement, said the decision of the anti-graft court only proves that the justice system in the Philippines works despite being slow. He added that the Palace respects the said decision. "The court has spoken and the Palace abides by its decision," Panelo said Friday afternoon. "The judiciary has performed its constitutional duty of dispensing justice. While justice grinds so slow most of the time, it does grind, and when it stops it renders a verdict that is exacting immutable," he added. The Palace official, meanwhile, said that while the decision got mostly negative reactions, he said that people would still have to respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan. "Regardless of the sentiments to the contrary, we have to bow down to the judgement of the Sandiganbayan," Panelo said. "We have consistently respected the independence of the Judiciary and we will continue to do so in this case as we implement the final orders of the anti-graft court on the matter," he added. "Nevertheless, we note that either party, whether for the prosecution or the defense, who feels aggrieved of the decision may still pursue remedies available under our procedural laws," he continued. According to Panelo, the Duterte administration has implemented measures to ensure that the people's money is used properly. "In any event, this Administration takes stock of the lessons learned from cases involving unconstitutional discretionary funds and has implemented measures to ensure the integrity of the national budget and its proper utilization for our people," he said.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after the Sandiganbayan acquitted Revilla, saying the prosecution failed to prove that the former action star was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The Sandiganbayan, however, found pork barrel scam mastermind Janel Lim Napoles and Revilla's former chief-of-staff Richard Cambe guilty. Panelo, in a statement, said the decision of the anti-graft court only proves that the justice system in the Philippines works despite being slow. He added that the Palace respects the said decision. "The court has spoken and the Palace abides by its decision," Panelo said Friday afternoon. "The judiciary has performed its constitutional duty of dispensing justice. While justice grinds so slow most of the time, it does grind, and when it stops it renders a verdict that is exacting immutable," he added. The Palace official, meanwhile, said that while the decision got mostly negative reactions, he said that people would still have to respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan. "Regardless of the sentiments to the contrary, we have to bow down to the judgement of the Sandiganbayan," Panelo said. "We have consistently respected the independence of the Judiciary and we will continue to do so in this case as we implement the final orders of the anti-graft court on the matter," he added. "Nevertheless, we note that either party, whether for the prosecution or the defense, who feels aggrieved of the decision may still pursue remedies available under our procedural laws," he continued. According to Panelo, the Duterte administration has implemented measures to ensure that the people's money is used properly. "In any event, this Administration takes stock of the lessons learned from cases involving unconstitutional discretionary funds and has implemented measures to ensure the integrity of the national budget and its proper utilization for our people," he said.