Jinggoy accuses prosecution of laying basis for 3-yr. suspension

Published August 11, 2014 9:01pm

Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada on Monday accused the prosecution of laying the basis for his suspension from the Senate for 1,080 days or almost three years.

In an eight-page Reply filed before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division where Estrada is facing charges for plunder and 11 counts of graft, the senator called the court's attention to the fact that government lawyers had him suspended only on the plunder rap.

Estrada's lawyer Paul Mar Arias said the prosecution could have asked for his suspension in connection with all the cases in a single motion.

The defense said that prosecutors made no mention of 11 counts of graft also filed against him when they sought Estrada's suspension.

The defense said the prosecution was, in effect, seeking to lay the basis to get Estrada suspended in each case successively.

By the defense panel's calculation, the prosecution would seek Estrada's suspension for each of the 11 graft charges on top of the 90-day suspension for plunder the court already meted out.

A ninety-day suspension multiplied by 12 means 1,080 days of being suspended from the Senate for Estrada.

"The prosecution is undoubtedly acting in bad faith in seeking the suspension of Sen. Estrada. (It) deliberately chose to seek the suspension of Sen. Estrada only in the instant (plunder) case," the defense said.

The defense reminded the prosecution that a "piecemeal application for suspension" against an accused public official has already been declared unlawful and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the cases of Deloso vs Sandiganbayan and Doromal vs Sandiganbayan.

Estrada is facing plunder and graft charges in connection with the pork barrel fund scam. He's now detained at the PNP Custodial Center. —NB, GMA News

Tags: bantaykaban, sandiganbayan, jinggoyestrada