SENATOR Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has stated that neither the Senate nor the impeachment court should interfere in the efforts of detained Senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada to participate in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Instead, Lacson said the two lawmakers and their legal teams should directly approach the Sandiganbayan if they wish to attend, vote, or join the proceedings remotely, rather than having the Senate itself make the appeal.
“When we held our caucus, I pointed out that doing so might appear as undue pressure being placed on the Sandiganbayan,” Lacson explained in a radio interview over dzBB. He warned that a formal request from the Senate could be interpreted as the chamber improperly intervening in a separate judicial body. The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division already denied Estrada’s request to attend the trial in July, ruling there was insufficient legal basis to repeatedly allow him to leave detention. Marcoleta, meanwhile, has filed a manifestation asserting his right to vote as a senator‑judge despite being in custody.
Lacson also emphasized the importance of the legal opinions to be delivered by the invited amici curiae — retired Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban, Reynato Puno, and Hilario Davide Jr., together with retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna — regarding the contested 16‑vote threshold required to convict the Vice President. Their independent legal guidance, Lacson noted, will be vital before the senator‑judges vote on the motion challenging the two‑thirds requirement.
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