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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOJ to finish March 30 probe on plunder charge vs Bong Revilla, other respondents

DOJ to finish March 30 probe on plunder charge vs Bong Revilla, other respondents

Published Mar 17, 2026 04:58 pm
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to terminate on March 30 the preliminary investigation of the plunder complaint filed against former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and other respondents in the flood control anomalies.
DOJ Spokesperson Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez said the panel of prosecutors decided to terminate the probe on March 30 when it accepted the separate counter-affidavits submitted on Tuesday, March 17, by four additional respondents.
The four additional respondents are former engineers assigned at the National Capital Region of the Department of Public Works and Highways (NCR-DPWH). They were identified as Denryl Caesar S. Cortuna, Manny B. Bulusan, Ruel V. Umali, and Arturo L. Gonzales Jr.
Last Feb. 12, Revilla submitted his counter-affidavit and refuted the allegations in the plunder charge filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Due to the new counter-affidavits filed by the new respondents, Martinez said “Revilla is given until March 30 to submit his supplemental counter-affidavit.”
Revilla’s legal counsel, lawyer Carlos Paulo M. Villaruz, told journalists that they will study if a supplemental counter-affidavit will still be filed by the former senator by March 30.
Villaruz said: “If there is no factual naman na dispute between sa sinasabi ni former senator at ng mga respondents, ‘yun na lang ang irereport namin sa panel (if there is no factual dispute between what Revilla said and what the four respondents said, then that’s what we will tell the panel).”
Aside from Revilla, the other original co-respondents in the plunder are former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto R. Bernardo, former DPWH Bulacan First District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara, and DPWH Regional Director Gerard P. Opulencia.
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