Sandiganbayan Blocks Jinggoy Estrada From Joining VP Sara Impeachment Trial
JINGGOY ESTRADA – The Sandiganbayan has ruled against Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s bid to personally participate in the impeachment proceedings involving Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
The Sandiganbayan has turned down Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s request for temporary leave from detention to attend the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, ruling that the constitutional significance of the proceedings is not enough to justify his release from custody.
In a resolution promulgated on Thursday, July 9, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division explained that Estrada’s appeal did not meet the legal requirements for a temporary leave from detention.
“While an impeachment trial is of paramount constitutional importance, its significance does not, by itself, provide a basis for the grant of his request,” the court stated.
It further emphasized, “Indeed, this Court cannot consider the accused-movant’s request to be in the nature of an emergency or compelling temporary leave,” as it denied the motion for lack of merit.
Estrada submitted his motion on June 29, arguing that his preventive detention does not terminate his mandate as an elected senator. He maintained that his participation in the impeachment proceedings is part of his official responsibilities, particularly because a conviction in an impeachment trial requires at least 16 votes from the Senate.
The senator also described his attendance as a “high constitutional duty” that justified a temporary leave from detention. To support his appeal, he pointed to previous instances in which the Makati Regional Trial Court granted then-detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV permission to attend Senate sessions while facing coup d’etat charges.
Despite these arguments, the Sandiganbayan ruled that existing jurisprudence does not support Estrada’s request. The court cited the Supreme Court decisions in Trillanes IV v. Pimentel Sr. and People v. Maceda, which establish that an incumbent public official under preventive detention is prohibited from performing the functions of public office unless he has been granted bail.
Estrada remains in detention in connection with two criminal cases pending before the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division. These include charges of plunder and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The plunder case is classified as non-bailable, preventing his temporary release under the current circumstances.
The charges stem from allegations that Estrada received millions of pesos in illegal kickbacks linked to government flood control projects.
He voluntarily surrendered to authorities in June after the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant for his arrest. With the court rejecting his latest plea, Estrada will remain in detention while his cases continue, making him unable to personally participate in the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
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