Court gives Revilla access to Luy’s ‘pork’ files

The Sandiganbayan First Division has given Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., an accused in the pork barrel scam case, limited access to the controversial files in whistleblower Benhur Luy's hard drive.

In a seven-page resolution, the anti-graft court said allowing Revilla unlimited access to the hard drive will infringe on Luy’s privacy.

It however said that as an accused, Revilla has the right to access the files in Luy’s hard drive, as it was presented as evidence in open court.

“The court believes and so holds that when the prosecution presented Luy as its witness and used his hard drive as part of his direct testimony, it is bound to give access of the said hard drive and its entire contents to the accused,” the court said.

However, the resolution noted that Revilla’s camp can only access the information on the drive which is relevant to the case.

Currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Revilla is facing plunder and graft charges for allegedly colluding with businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles to divert millions of pesos in his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to bogus non-government organizations.

Luy, Napoles' cousin and former employee, was the first to expose the alleged scam.

In the same resolution, the court denied Revilla’s motion to hold in contempt the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent who testified to guarantee the authenticity of the hard drive.

NBI agent Joey Narciso had earlier refused to give Revilla a full copy of the files in the hard drive, on Luy’s request. —KBK, GMA News