Detained Senator Jose "Jinggoy" P. Ejercito Estrada's request to attend the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has been denied by the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.
The anti-graft court, in a seven-page resolution promulgated on Thursday, ruled that Estrada's participation as a senator-judge is incompatible with his status as a detention prisoner and did not constitute a compelling ground for temporary leave from detention.
Estrada had argued that his attendance was necessary because the Constitution requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all senators to convict an impeachable officer, and that his participation in the trial was a "high constitutional duty" warranting temporary leave from detention.
The Fifth Division, however, rejected the argument, citing Supreme Court rulings that public officials under detention may not perform the functions of their office unless released on bail or recognizance.
The court pointed out that Estrada remains detained after not posting bail in his graft case, and while his bid for bail in the non-bailable plunder case remains pending.
The court added that Estrada's request could not be considered an emergency or compelling temporary leave, noting that the Senate impeachment trial is scheduled three days a week over 92 trial days spanning 31 weeks.
"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 court also stated that allowing Estrada to attend the impeachment trial would "virtually make him a free man with all the privileges appurtenant to his position" and "make a mockery of the purposes of preventive detention."
