PERSECUTION or prosecution? Senator Jinggoy Estrada (center) faces a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan, while fellow Senators Robin Padilla and Rodante Marcoleta, flanking him in this photo, are also part of the Senate majority bloc that is purportedly being ‘targeted’ for cases tied to budget insertions.
Photograph by Aram Lascano for DAILY TRIBUNE
“All 13 of us are being targeted.”
Senator Imee Marcos said the Senate majority bloc is facing a wave of legal pressure, with the recent filing and intensified pursuit of the cases against Senate majority members Rodante Marcoleta, Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Marcos said there were efforts to build cases against all 13 members of the majority bloc, which she described as an attempt to weaken the group through legal action.
“I think all of us are really being targeted. In fact, many are calling and texting us — from the DoJ and the Ombudsman — saying that all 13 of us are now the subjects of case build-ups,” she said in Filipino in a media forum in Quezon City on Wednesday.
“Whether this is true or not, I certainly pray that this persecution, if that is what it will be, will not proceed. This is not good, especially as we are facing a very serious emergency,” she added.
The senator said the developments were alarming, noting that their bloc did not respond the same way when it lost key positions during the leadership change under former Senate President Vicente Sotto and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
“Back then, when we lost, we did not vote for Senator Tito Sotto. No one objected, we remained quiet. Even when all our committees were removed, it was fine. Because we believe in the process — we are not clingy to positions,” she said.
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Bigger issues
Amid the Senate turmoil, Marcos called for the reopening of the probe into the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, which she said had been sidelined in favor of the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
She said only Department of Public Works and Highways officials and private contractors have been jailed so far, while the “big fish” remain at large.
“We should finally get some clarity because this has been going on for so long. When did this start? It’s been a long time. It’s almost like a baby, nine months, almost a year. People are getting impatient, as if the culprits have gotten away,” she said.
Marcos also questioned the direction of the investigations, saying they appeared to have shifted toward the Davao region and the senators rather than focusing on budget insertions in the House of Representatives.
No favoritism
Her remarks came a day after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Estrada and Villanueva are set to face separate plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan within the next two weeks over the flood control scandal.
Remulla said he was not particularly targeting anyone, stressing that the Ombudsman’s duty is to investigate all officials accused of wrongdoing.
“The work of the Ombudsman covers everyone. Right now, I have signed many preventive suspensions for mayors, we are pursuing many cases, but the public interest is focused on the flood control issue,” he said.
He also cited the difficulty in securing documents from the House, saying the Secretariat of the Committee on Appropriations has refused to accept subpoenas related to budget insertions in the 2024 and 2025 national budgets.
Remulla said the cases are linked to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez who, along with Escudero, is being investigated over alleged kickbacks tied to budget insertions.
