MANILA, Philippines – Tinanggihan ng Sandiganbayan ang mosyon ni dating senador Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. na naglalayong mag-inhibit si Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Karl Miranda sa kasong malversation na inihain laban sa dating senador, dahil sa kakulangan ng merito.
Sa resolusyon na may petsang Pebrero 10, sinabi ng Sandiganbayan na si Miranda ay “duty-bound to proceed with this case” sa P92.8 milyong ghost flood control project sa Pandi, Bulacan.
“His (Miranda) inhibition without concrete proof of personal interest or bias will set a dangerous precedent and present opportunities for abuse. Specifically, this would be tantamount to an automatic granting of a voluntary inhibition, which would open the floodgates to a form of forum-shopping, in which litigants would be allowed to shop for ajudge more sympathetic to their cause, and would prove antithetical to the speedy and fair administration of justice,” ayon sa anti-graft court.
Nais ng kampo ni Revilla na mag-inhibit si Miranda dahil ang kapatid nito na si Buenaventura Miranda, ay nagsilbing counsel ni dating Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo sa pagdinig ng Senado sa anomalya sa flood control project.
Bago ang mosyon ni Revilla, sinabi ni Miranda na ang lead counsel ni Revilla na si Ramon Esguerra ay kanyang personal na kaibigan.
Sa kabila nito, sinabi ng Sandiganbayan na ang rules of inhibition “must be applied with a sober regard for the perception of impartiality.”
“The Sandiganbayan was created precisely to ensure that cases involving public accountability are resolved by magistrates who are not easily dissuaded by conjecture, pressure, or unfounded suspicion. To inhibit in the absence of clear and convincing proof of bias would be a retreat from that mandate and a disservice to the court’s core values of Honor, Integrity, and Accountability…honor, in refusing to yield to baseless insinuations; integrity, in remaining faithful to the law and jurisprudence governing judicial inhibition; and accountability, in discharging the sworn obligation to decide cases promptly and fairly,” ayon sa korte.
“Public trust in the judiciary is preserved by judges who, guided by these principle resolve cases on the merits, anchored solely on the evidence and the law, and not by unwarranted recusals. Accordingly, the Urgent Motion for Inhibition dated February 8, 2026 and filed by accused Ramon Bautista Bong Revilla, Jr., on even date is hereby denied for lack of merit,” dagdag pa. RNT/JGC
