Sandiganbayan rejects Estrada bid to attend Duterte impeachment trial

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division denied detained Senator Jose “Jinggoy” P. Ejercito Estrada’s request to attend the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, ruling that his participation as a senator-judge was incompatible with his status as a detention prisoner and did not constitute a compelling ground for temporary leave from detention.

In a seven-page resolution promulgated on Thursday, penned by Associate Justice Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac, the anti-graft court denied for lack of merit Mr. Estrada’s motion seeking permission to participate in the impeachment proceedings.

Mr. Estrada argued that his attendance was necessary because the Constitution requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all senators to convict an impeachable officer and that his participation in the trial was a “high constitutional duty” warranting temporary leave from detention.

The Fifth Division rejected the argument, citing Supreme Court rulings in Trillanes IV v. Pimentel, Sr., People v. Maceda, and People v. Jalosjos, which held that public officials under detention may not perform the functions of their office unless released on bail or recognizance.

The court said Mr. Estrada remains detained after not posting bail in his graft case and while his bid for bail in the non-bailable plunder case remains pending.

It also ruled that his request could not be considered an emergency or compelling temporary leave, noting that the Senate impeachment trial is scheduled three days a week over 92 trial days spanning 31 weeks.

“Such a prolonged and recurring arrangement cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered an emergency or compelling temporary leave from detention,” the court said.

It added that allowing Mr. Estrada to attend the impeachment trial would “virtually make him a free man with all the privileges appurtenant to his position” and “make a mockery of the purposes of preventive detention.”

The charges stem from alleged irregular allocations for Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects, with the Ombudsman alleging Mr. Estrada received P573 million. — Mark Joseph M. Sanchez