After rebuff by Sandiganbayan, Enrile may petition Supreme Court for bail

Lawyers of detained Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday said that they are considering elevating their petition for bail to the Supreme Court, after the Sandiganbayan denied the 90-year-old lawmaker temporary liberty.

“Since our motion to fix bail was denied, we will file the appropriate petition with the Supreme Court,” Enrile lawyer Joseph Sagandoy told reporters.

Sagandoy explained that the bail petition will be separate from an earlier petition for certiorari to obtain a bill of particulars from the prosecution.

“We filed a petition regarding the order for Bill of Particulars. We will be filing another petition with respect to our motion for bail. We are also considering an application for bail, even as we are pursuing that petition with the Supreme Court,” he said.

Enrile, who is accused of amassing some P172 million in pork barrel funds, is facing one count of plunder and 15 counts of graft before the Sandiganbayan. He is under temporary hospital arrest until the anti-graft court can determine whether he needs to be confined in a medical facility.

Enrile was brought to the Philippine General Hospital on Monday to undergo more medical exams, as ordered by the Sandiganbayan Third Division. The extensive medical assessment on Enrile is part of his petition for continued detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) General Hospital.

Meanwhile, the anti-graft court on Monday submitted for resolution Enrile’s motion for reconsideration regarding his suspension.

Enrile’s camp argued that the Senate is the only body that can suspend Enrile. However, the prosecution earlier said that a suspension will prevent the senator from committing further acts of malfeasance.

“We filed a motion for reconsideration regarding the order issued by the Sandiganbayan suspending Senator Enrile for a period of 90 days. Submitted for decision siya ngayon. Our ground basically is that it is the Senate that has the exclusive authority to discipline its members, at walang jurisdiction yung Ombudsman and yung Sandiganbayan to suspend members of the Senate,” Sagandoy said. — JDS, GMA News