Detained Senator Marcoleta Insists on Voting Rights in Impeachment Trial

Senator Rodante Marcoleta insists that his voting capacity as a senator-judge in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte remains intact, despite his current detention for plunder charges. This assertion was made in a 16-page letter addressed to the Senate President, written while he was in detention. Marcoleta argues that he is not under preventive suspension, nor has he resigned or become incapacitated, thus his legal capacity to vote as a Senator is unimpaired. He contends that his arrest for plunder, which he describes as politically motivated, does not vacate his office as Senator, even though he has surrendered to the custody of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). Furthermore, the detained senator raised objections to the current presiding officer of Duterte's impeachment trial, stating that the Senate President should generally preside over such proceedings. He emphasized that the Constitution's meaning should not be distorted. Marcoleta also reiterated his support for the 16-vote threshold required to convict the impeached Vice-President, a rule he claims was agreed upon when the rules for the impeachment proceedings were set on July 3, three days before his arrest on July 6. "For the foregoing reasons, I vote in favor of the ruling on the 16-vote requirement to convict the impeached Vice-President," the lawmaker said. Senator Marcoleta is currently detained at the Quezon City Jail for alleged plunder, stemming from accusations of receiving P75 million in undeclared campaign donations. —RF, GMA News