Part of the problem

Thanks to the flood control scandal, the nation suddenly remembers scams in the previous years. And the big fish who got away, leaving only the minnows to suffer behind bars.

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Now that sacked public works assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez has tagged former senator Bong Revilla in the flood control mess, people are wondering if he ever complied with the Sandiganbayan order for him, his aide Richard Cambe and pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim Napoles to return "solidarily and jointly" P124.5 million to the national treasury.

The anti-graft court, in a weird ruling, had convicted Napoles and Cambe but cleared Revilla of criminal liability. Cambe, left holding the bag, died in 2021 while serving his sentence in the New Bilibid Prison.

Revilla's lawyer, Raymond Fortun, told "Storycon" on One News last Tuesday that prosecutors could file a motion to execute the court's civil judgment.

Such a motion was in fact filed by the Office of the Ombudsman way back in February 2019, but the Sandiganbayan reportedly found it "prudent" to wait for the result of Revilla's appeal of the order, which was filed with the Supreme Court, arguing that civil liability was extinguished with the dismissal of the criminal case.

Until last year, the SC had not ruled on the appeal. It's unclear if it has issued a final ruling.

Judges are supposed to see to it that their orders are executed, according to the former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Domingo Cayosa.

But the reality is that so many judicial orders nationwide are not implemented, Cayosa told Storycon last Wednesday.

Cayosa said judicial courts have sheriffs who should see to the execution of court orders. Defiance of a court order, including the return of public funds, carry separate penalties, he said.