After first-time poll loss, Bong Revilla eyes cases vs fake news purveyors
Still smarting from his first loss in a national election, outgoing Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. said on Monday he would file criminal charges against certain individuals who “orchestrated” a smear campaign against him and cost him his reelection bid in the May 12 midterm polls.
“I’m sad because I fell victim to fake news,” Revilla told reporters over the phone, his voice sounding dejected.
“They were able to convince the people that [those falsehoods] were true. So I said we have to do something. We need to file cases against those who should be held liable for this,” he said.
The actor-turned-lawmaker said he decided to take legal action to prevent unscrupulous netizens from spreading lies and unduly influencing the perception of voters about candidates like him.
“I’m not onion-skinned … I have already suffered when people believed the lies told about me in the past. This time, I will not allow it again,” he added.
Asked if the supposed attacks against him on various social media platforms were coordinated, Revilla said: “I believe yes, it was orchestrated.”
But he refused to say which political group or individuals were behind the campaign to prevent him from winning his fourth six-year term in the Senate.
“That’s part of politics. That’s part of the election process,” he said. “But what’s inappropriate here is the spread of fake news.”
Revilla, the son of the late action superstar and former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr., landed in the 14th spot in the final tally of the Commission on Elections with over 12 million votes.
This was quite a contrast from 2010, when he received the highest number of votes, earning him a second six-year consecutive term as senator.
Malicious post
In a separate press briefing, Revilla’s lawyer, Raymond Fortun, said they were readying the filing of as many as 10 cyberlibel complaints against vloggers, websites and other personalities who allegedly fabricated damaging stories about his client.
Fortun said one of the malicious posts was the purported order of the Sandiganbayan for Revilla to remit P124.5 million to state coffers in connection with the cases filed against him over the P10-billion pork barrel scam.
He showed a social media art card that quoted Revilla as supposedly saying that he would not return the amount that he allegedly pocketed from his pork barrel allotments, officially known as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
In 2014, Revilla surrendered to authorities after he was indicted for plunder and graft. He spent nearly five years in jail before he was acquitted by the antigraft court in 2018.
“Revilla was falsely charged before the Sandiganbayan for having misused his PDAF. He was rightfully acquitted from these false charges in 2018 and 2021. He has no pending case in any court of law since then,” Fortun said.
“Notwithstanding such acquittals, certain individuals and groups … continued to vilify him … These evil-minded individuals and groups succeeded in their plan, but they will be made to answer for their misdeeds before the courts of law,” he stressed.
According to Fortun, the attacks against Revilla intensified on May 7, or just five days before the elections.
