Bong denies unexplained wealth,cites huge showbiz earnings
"I have no hidden wealth." This is what Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. yesterday told reporters regarding the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) that he has unexplained wealth.
“In the realm of earnings, without boasting, as a Bong Revilla, I can be considered as one of the highest paid actors in the country," he said in Pilipino.
Citing that "bata pa lang ako kumikita na ako ng malaking pera (since I was young I have been earning large sums of money)," the senator assured that "lahat ng kinita namin, lahat yan legal, walang illegal (all our earnings are legal, nothing is illegal)."
"To my countrymen, we are hiding nothing. The truth will eventually come out," added Revilla, who lamented that what is happening to him is all politics and that he is already being tried by publicity.
Bank Officer 2 Atty. Leigh Vhon Santos, an investigator of the AMLC Secretariat, had testified before the Sandiganbayan First Division that between April 2006 up to April 2010 numerous deposits were made into the accounts of Revilla and his immediate family amounting to a total of R87,626,587.53.
Santos said that each deposits were made within 30 days from the dates whistleblower Benhur Luy noted in his ledger that Cambe allegedly received money on behalf of the senator.
Also, Santos testified that the AMLC also found that, when reports on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam started to appear in 2013, Revilla closed and terminated 20 bank accounts and investments between June to September 2013.
To the closures of these accounts, Revilla said "I'm not denying that. That is true."
However, Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano, a member of the prosecution team, told reporters that Revilla will still have to explain those deposits and show proof that money came from legitimate sources.