SENATOR Jinggoy Estrada won’t be able to vote, much less take part in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
This comes as the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has denied the motion of Senator Jinggoy Estrada to function as senator-judge due to lack of merit.
In a seven-page resolution dated July 9, 2026, the anti-graft court said that the detained senator’s request is “bereft of merit.”
“This court cannot consider the accused-movant’s request to be in the nature of an emergency of compelling temporary leave. While an impeachment trial is of paramount constitutional importance, its significance does not, by itself, provide a basis for the grant of his request,” reads part of the decision.
Estrada, who is currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas, is facing plunder and graft cases in connection with his alleged links to the flood control scandal.
Interestingly, the Sandiganbayan finds it more logical for Estrada to file a bail petition first and secure the approval of the court before securing temporary liberty.
“Overall, the trial period would span 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. Allowing the accused-movant to attend the impeachment trial would virtually make him a free man with all the privileges appurtenant to his position,” the court added.
The anti-graft court likewise said allowing Estrada to participate in the impeachment proceedings would “make a mockery of the purposes of preventive detention.”
“To grant such a request would substantially erode the very restraints that lawful detention necessarily entails,” the Sandiganbayan added.
