Detained Senators Seek Participation in VP Duterte Impeachment Trial

Senator Rodante Marcoleta has called on the Senate impeachment court to find ways to allow him and Senator Jinggoy Estrada to participate in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, asserting their right to perform their duties as senators despite their current detention. Marcoleta told reporters, “I filed a manifestation before the Senate. I argued that the Senate should find ways to allow myself and Senator Estrada to participate in the impeachment trial of the Vice President.” Marcoleta and Estrada are both currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail Dormitory in Barangay Payatas in Quezon City. Estrada is under detention over an alleged plunder of P573 million worth of public funds and two counts of graft in connection with his supposed involvement in the flood control mess. Marcoleta, who is also a lawyer, argued that being a detainee does not diminish their status as senators. “Being detained does not cancel my status as a senator. Being detained did not reduce the number of 24 senators. My detention does not alter that number,” he told reporters. “You can only replace a member of the Senate if someone dies, resigned, or could not fulfill his duties anymore. Those are the only reasons,” he added. Marcoleta further stated that his detention is tantamount to the detention of the Filipino people seeking justice. “I am saddened because it is not only me who is detained, but the people are detained. The truth that the people are seeking has not yet been revealed, and those who caused it are still hiding,” he lamented. — RSJ, GMA News