 In 2018, Revilla through his wife Mayor Lani Mercado filed his candidacy for Senator, with the endorsement of Presidential Daughter and "de facto" First Lady Sara Duterte, who is the leader of the political coalition Hugpong ng Pagbabago in order to include him to her 14 (later 16)-candidate slate for the Senate election in May 2019, which was criticized by the opposition coalition "Tindig Pilipinas" due to his involvement in the PDAF scam with Jinggoy Estrada.On December 7, 2018, the Sandiganbayan acquitted Revilla on the PDAF scam, but he paid a PHP 480,000 bail for sixteen counts of graft cases, but his chief aide Richard Cambe and the PDAF scam mastermind Janet Napoles was convicted.Ramon "Bong" Bong Revilla Jr. married Lani Mercado (Jesusa Victoria Hernandez-Bautista), incumbent Mayor of Bacoor City, in 1987 in a civil wedding.