Prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) have approved the inclusion of four more respondents in the plunder case against former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., tightening the net in the alleged flood control scam.

In an ambush interview on Tuesday, DOJ spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez confirmed that the panel of prosecutors granted the motion filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to add Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers Denryl Caesar Cortuna, Manny Bulusan, Ruel Umali, and Arturo Gonzales Jr. to the case.

Martinez said the move is part of efforts to determine whether the evidence on hand establishes prima facie proof with a reasonable certainty of conviction, paving the way for the case to be filed in court.

“They were accepted, and so in order 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.

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

Revilla’s lawyer, Atty. 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.

“Sen. Revilla was given until March 30 to file his counter affidavit to controvert the allegations in these counter-affidavits filed by the additional respondents,” he said.

Martinez stressed that the inclusion of more respondents is meant to ensure a thorough and orderly investigation.

“We want to ferret out the truth. Upon assessment, the prosecutors found these affidavits worth looking into—may laman ‘yan,” he explained when asked as to why the DOJ approved the inclusion of additional respondents. 

Revilla was earlier implicated in the alleged anomaly after former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo claimed he received kickbacks in exchange for endorsing flood control projects.