Sandiganbayan bars Jinggoy from joining Sara trial
The court ruled that the significance of the proceedings did not override established rules governing detention.
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The court ruled that the significance of the proceedings did not override established rules governing detention.
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The Sandiganbayan has denied Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s request to attend the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, ruling that his detention on non-bailable plunder and graft charges bars him from performing his duties as a senator-judge.
In a resolution, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division found Estrada’s motion lacked merit, rejecting his plea for temporary leave from detention at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas.
Estrada argued that his presence was necessary because the Constitution requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all senators, or 16 votes, to convict an impeachable official.
He also maintained that serving as a senator-judge constituted a “high constitutional duty” that justified his temporary release from detention.
The Sandiganbayan disagreed, citing Supreme Court rulings in Trillanes IV v. Pimentel Sr. and People v. Maceda, which held that detained public officials facing non-bailable charges must remain in custody unless they are granted bail.
The court also ruled that Estrada failed to show that his attendance at the impeachment proceedings constituted an emergency warranting temporary leave.
It noted that the impeachment trial is expected to run for about 31 weeks, meaning the arrangement sought by Estrada would require repeated absences from detention.
“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.
The justices likewise rejected Estrada’s argument that the constitutional importance of the impeachment trial justified his request, saying the significance of the proceedings did not override established rules governing detention.
Estrada was charged with plunder and graft in June over allegations that he received P573 million in kickbacks from Department of Public Works and Highways infrastructure projects in 2025.
He is one of two sitting senators facing plunder charges, along with Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who was charged by the Office of the Ombudsman earlier this month.
