Sandiganbayan orders 90-day suspension vs. Jinggoy

Published July 18, 2014 9:33am

(Updated 1:42 p.m.) The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on Friday ordered the suspension of Senator Jinggoy Estrada for 90 days in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam.

"Accused Jose "Jinggoy" P. Ejercito Estrada is hereby suspended from his position as Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, and from any other public office which he may now or hereafter be holding for a period of ninety (90) days from receipt of this resolution, unless a motion for reconsideration is seasonably filed," the eight-page resolution.

The resolution was signed by Fifth Division chairman Associate Justice Rolando Jurado, Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo, and Associate Justice Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta.

Government prosecutors earlier asked the anti-graft court to suspend Estrada as his continued stay in office "may frustrate the prosecution of the crime, if not prejudice the case filed against him.

"To prevent the accused from committing further acts of malfeasance, tamper with documentary evidence and intimidate or influence witnesses in the case, it is necessary that the accused be suspended from office while thy case is pending in court," the motion read.

Jinggoy to appeal decision

In a text message to GMA News Online, Estrada’s lawyer Alexis Abastillas-Suarez said that since the resolution is not yet immediately executory, they will file a motion for reconsideration soon.

“Since the resolution is not immediately executory because it ordered that the Senator is hereby suspended for 90 days ‘unless a motion for reconsideration is seasonably filed,’ we will be availing of our opportunity to file our motion for reconsideration,” Abastillas-Suarez said.

The Fifth Division has given Estrada’s camp 10 days to file a motion for reconsideration on the resolution.

In its ruling, the anti-graft court said both the Plunder Law (Republic Act 7080) and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) mandate the suspension of a public officer charged with a crime within its ambit.

Under Section 5 of RA 7080, any public officer under any criminal prosecution, “in whatever stage of execution and mode of participation, is pending in court, shall be suspended from office.”

While Section 13 of RA 3019 states that “Any public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under avalid information under this Act or under the provision of the Revised Penal Code on bribery is pending in court shall be suspended from Office.”

The Fifth Division also refused to side with the argument of Estrada that his suspension might affect the welfare of his constituents.

“Lastly, the fear of the accused that his constituents will be paralyzed for ninety days when he is preventively suspended, is remote. There will still remain 21 other Senators of the Republic of the Philippines who can meet as such,” the resolution said.

“The Senate President will surely know how to deal with the problem of filling up the temporary vacancies in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Senate,” the resolution added.

The resolution, however, clarified that the “suspension of the accused shall automatically be lifted upon expiration of ninety-day period from the implementation of the resolution.”

Aside from Estrada, the Office of the Ombudsman had asked the anti-graft court to suspend Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. who are also facing plunder and graft charges in connection with the alleged pork barrel scam.

Estrada faces one count of plunder and 11 counts of graft. On the other hand, Enrile faces one count of plunder and 15 counts of graft, while Revilla is facing one count of plunder and 16 counts of plunder.

Estrada is accused of pocketing P183.79 million in kickbacks from dealings with fake NGOs from 2004 to 2012. The Ombudsman said Estrada chose bogus NGOs as “project partners” for livelihood projects financed by his PDAF.

Abastillas-Suarez earlier maintained that suspension should not be viewed as a punishment for the senator.

“The suspension is just preventive, not punitive. Usually, it is imposed to prevent a person charged from causing further harm,” she told reporters on July 1. — Amanda Fernandez and Elizabeth Marcelo/RSJ, GMA News

Tags: bantaykaban, jinggoyestrada