A senator placed under suspension cannot lawfully sit as a magistrate in an impeachment proceeding, the House prosecution panel contends, putting Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s eligibility to weigh in on Vice President Sara Duterte’s case in direct question.
The argument turns on Estrada’s legal status. Detained at the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory after the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest over a non-bailable plunder charge tied to the flood control scandal, the senator faces statutory suspension that prosecutors say bars him from exercising the functions of his office.
Lead prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro framed the matter as a question of basic eligibility when asked whether Estrada could be treated as suspended from his Senate post.
“Kung suspended ka, how can you attend? Are you still a senator on that particular occasion if you’re suspended from your official duty? I think the answer is clear,” Luistro said.
She pointed to two statutes as the legal foundation. “Sabi sa Plunder Law at Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, na kapag na-file-an sila ng kaso, suspended din sila sa pagiging senator,” she added.
The panel’s broader push is to keep Estrada out of the trial entirely. Prosecutors have signaled they will move before the impeachment court to disqualify him, arguing that allowing a senator-judge with active plunder and graft cases before the Sandiganbayan to rule on the case would cast doubt on the court’s impartiality. They have also cited Estrada’s earlier public statements touching on the impeachment as grounds for inhibition.
Manila Third District Rep. Joel Chua raised a practical objection along the same lines, questioning during a Saturday forum how a senator absent from the proceedings could fairly reach a verdict without having heard the witnesses testify.
Estrada has pushed back, rejecting the notion that he has lost his standing. He maintains that no final ruling has stripped him of his role and that proceedings over his suspension pendente lite remain unresolved. “The issue is far from settled,” Estrada said in a statement relayed by his staff to Senate reporters, adding that he has yet to file his comment and opposition and has not exhausted the legal remedies open to him.
The dispute carries weight beyond Estrada’s individual position. With the senator detained and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa absent from chamber proceedings since November amid an International Criminal Court warrant, the number of senators able to vote has become a live question, feeding a separate legal debate over whether a conviction would require 16 votes or a lower threshold.
The trial is set to open on July 6, with a closed-door pre-trial conference scheduled for June 18, where the duration of the proceedings and the defense timeline are expected to be tabled.
