Prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DoJ) have expanded the plunder complaint against former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., approving the addition of four additional respondents in connection with the alleged flood-control scam.

DoJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said Tuesday the panel granted a motion by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to add Department of Public Works and Highways engineers Denryl Caesar Cortuna, Manny Bulusan, Ruel Umali and Arturo Gonzales Jr., as part of efforts to determine whether the evidence establishes prima facie proof that could sustain a conviction in court.

“They were accepted, and so, to really see if all these pieces of evidence merit a finding of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction, it will be filed in court,” he pointed out.

Opposition junked

The DoJ also rejected the opposition filed by Revilla’s camp against the inclusion of the additional respondents.

Revilla’s counsel, Carlos Villaruz, said the defense would first review the counter-affidavits submitted by the newly added co-respondents before responding.

“Of course, it is important for us to know what they said, their allegations or defenses, so we can respond accordingly,” Villaruz said.

The DoJ has set a 30 March deadline for all respondents, including Revilla, to file supplemental counter-affidavits if they wish to contest the new claims.