Senator Jinggoy Estrada sent a petition to Supreme Court to allow him to attend Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial and to reverse the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ruling that rejected his plea.

Estrada, in his SC petition filed through counsel, said his vote counts in the impeachment trial because of the requirement in the Constitution that there should be a two-thirds vote of all members of the Senate to convict.

The Constitution makes no distinction between senators who are detained on non-bailable charges and those who are not with regard to the number required to convict, he said.

The senator added in his pleadings that ut is also important that he discharge his duty as a senator-judge properly.

He also expressed, “Petitioner can more faithfully and meaningfully fulfill his constitutional role as a Judge of the Impeachment Court if he is permitted to hear the evidence firsthand, observe the demeanor of the witnesses, pose questions, and make his voice heard in the deliberations (to the extent that this may be allowed by the rules of the Impeachment Court)."

He also argued that his detention does not stop him from being a senator of the Republic of the Philippines.

Estrada, in connection with his suspension in a separate graft case pending before the Sandiganbayan Second Division, said it is not relevant to whether the Fifth Division should have allowed him to attend the impeachment trial.

The senator was suspended for 90 days and the trial may go beyond the period.

Further, Estrada argued that his suspension does not apply to his duties as a senator-judge in Duterte’s trial, adding, he is not seeking bail, only that he be allowed to attend the impeachment trial in the Senate.

Estrada said allowing him to attend the impeachment trial is not inconsistent with the Sandiganbayan’s interest in ensuring his presence in his own criminal trial because even if he goes to the Senate, he will remain under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

The senator mentioned that Antonio Trillanes IV was allowed to leave detention when he was charged with coup d’etat so that he could file his certificate of candidacy as a senator and take his oath when he won, as these were viewed as compelling temporary leaves from prison.

His participation in Duterte’s impeachment trial “is no less compelling,” he said.

The lawmaker also contested the Sandiganbayan’s ruling that allowing him to go to the Senate would virtually make him a free man, as he said his movements would still be curtailed and he would be unable to go where he pleases.

But said it would not elevate him to a special class and would just allow him to perform his duty, as there is no finding that he is a flight risk, and there is “zero chance” that he would use the impeachment trial to flee the Sandiganbayan’s jurisdiction.

He also said that the Sandiganbayan erred in saying that his theory on the two-thirds threshold is irrelevant to his plea.

Since the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of all the members of the Senate to convict, Estrada said that his vote counts.

He likewise said of full compliance with whatever conditions the high bench may impose should he be allowed to attend the impeachment trial.