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MANILA, Philippines – A day after declaring that he remains open to the possibility of running for president in 2016 despite being charged for plunder, Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr on Monday, June 16, began to tour around various communities in Metro Manila and his home province of Cavite.
In fact, a day after he delivered at the Senate his privilege speech complete with a video of him singing on June 9, he was in Tondo, Manila, a district rich with urban poor voters, to do charity work, his staff said.
On Monday, Revilla was accompanied by his eldest son Bryan and his actor friend Phillip Salvador when he did the rounds of Sampaloc, Pandacan, and Sta Mesa in Manila; Malabon; Navotas; and Cavite.
The senator denied the tour was a form of early campaigning. He told reporters it was meant to be a show of gratitude for his supporters.
His media relations officer, Amy Manzo, told Rappler Revilla received a warm response in all the areas he visited.
“Sobrang dami ng tao sa mga barangay na napuntahan ni boss. ‘Yun ang nagpapalakas ng loob niya na lumaban – dahil sa mga taong nagmamahal sa kanya,” Manzo said.
(There were so many people in the barangays that my boss visited. That’s what encourages him to keep on fighting – the people who love him.)
Revilla is one of 3 senators facing plunder and graft charges for allegedly receiving kickbacks after they channelled their discretionary Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to the fake non-governmental organizations of alleged mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.
Road to 2016?
Despite his legal battles, Revilla – in an interview with radio DZBB on Saturday – said he has not given up on his plans to run for president in 2016. He said the charges against him were the administration’s way of demolishing the rivals of the administration’s expected bet, Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is also facing plunder charges over the pork barrel scam, said he has also been thinking of touring different areas just like his colleague.
“Matagal ko na ring pina-plano iyan kaya lang marami pa akong ginagawa. Bumili na ako ng mga heater para sa tubig, kung saka-sakaling walang mainit na tubig doon sa kulungan,” Estrada said in jest.
(I’ve also been planning to do that but I’m still doing a lot of things. I bought a water heater in case there is no hot water in jail.)
Asked whether Revilla’s move could help lift his image, Estrada said: “It can help in a way. Siguro nagpapasalamat lang si Senator Bong sa suportang ibinigay sa kanya ng masang Pilipino (Maybe he is thanking the Filipino masses for the support they gave him).”
In the last week of session in Congress for June, Revilla delivered a privilege speech that ended with a music video featuring a song he sung himself.
Netizens denounced the speech, but Revilla’s party mate in Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, defended the senator. The speech, he said, was not for netizens but for Revilla’s mass supporters.
The senator got 19.5 million votes when he ran for re-election in 2010.
Ahead of their impending arrest, police has prepared the quarters that will serve as the detention center for the accused senators. When the arrest will happen and where they will be jailed, however, remain to be seen after the Sandiganbayan raffled off the cases to different judges on June 13. – Rappler.com
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