Marcoleta asks peers: ‘Find ways’ to include me, Jinggoy
Sen. Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday urged fellow senators to “find ways” for him and another jailed colleague, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, to participate in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Marcoleta and Estrada, who both belong to the minority bloc, are currently detained and separately facing nonbailable charges of plunder being heard at the Sandiganbayan.
“I filed a manifestation in the Senate where I presented the legal reason why the Senate needs to find proper ways so that Senator Jinggoy and I can participate in the ongoing impeachment trial,” Marcoleta said in a chance interview at the antigraft court, where he appeared for a pretrial conference in the Third Division.
According to Marcoleta, his detention does not change his status as one of the 24 incumbent senators who would eventually be asked to vote to either acquit or convict the Vice President.
On July 20, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, presiding officer of the impeachment court, said Marcoleta had submitted a letter of manifestation asking that his vote be considered in the proceedings.
Escudero then said he was “inclined to agree” with Marcoleta’s suggestion as long as the latter is not facing suspension as a senator.
When the trial started on July 6, Escudero maintained that the number of votes required for a conviction remained at 16, consistent with the constitutional provision setting the threshold at two-thirds of the chamber’s total membership pegged at 24.
Asked to explain
Marcoleta has been charged by the Ombudsman with plunder over his failure to declare in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth the P75 million he said he received as donation for his senatorial campaign in the 2025 elections.
On July 22, the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division ordered Marcoleta to explain why he should not be placed under preventive suspension as a senator. It cited a provision of the Anti-Plunder Act which provides for such as measure for any public official charged with the crime.
As to Estrada, the court’s Fifth Division, which hears his plunder case, denied his June 29 motion to be allowed to participate in the impeachment trial.
The charge against Estrada stemmed from the allegation that he received P573 million in kickbacks through insertions made in the 2025 budget flood control projects.
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