Imee Marcos hits ‘political persecution’ vs allies in Senate majority

MANILA, Philippines— Sen. Imee Marcos on Friday branded the filing of plunder and graft charges against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and other allies in the new majority bloc in the Senate as “political persecution”.

Marcos and Estrada belong to the 13-member majority bloc led by newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

“Political persecution,” the presidential sister said in a message to reporters after the Office of the Ombudsman filed the cases against Estrada before the Sandiganbayan on Thursday.

READ: DOJ recommends plunder raps vs Estrada – Ombudsman

“The timing of these cases and the attempt by the minority, who are, by the way, openly aligned with the administration, to block online participation by senators make it very clear that the cases against Jinggoy and other majority senators are not about justice or accountability. It is about the desperation of the administration to hold on to power,” she added.

Three more members of the majority bloc—Sens. Rodante Marcoleta,  Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Joel Villanueva —  are also being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman for possible plunder and other charges.

Estrada, Escudero and Villanueva were all embroiled in the anomalous flood control projects  while the  complaint against Marcoleta was in connection with  the alleged  P75 million campaign donations he received when he ran in 2025.

But Marcos said there must be  “presumption of innocence” first.

“At this point, jail is not considered punishment since they are presumed innocent,” she pointed out.

Meanwhile,  she was baffled by the strong objection of minority senators to Marcoleta’s proposal to amend the Senate rules  to allow its member to attend the session remotely.

Preventing senators to participate online would disenfranchise the millions of people who elected them,  according to Marcos.

“Except for Senator Ronald dela Rosa, they are not really ‘fugitives.’ They did not resist; they complied with whatever court order was issued. Their physical absence was involuntary,”  she pointed out.

Dela Rosa has been absent from the Senate since an arrest order  against him was issued by the International Criminal Court in connection with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. 

As then police chief, Dela Rosa spearheaded the brutal war against illegal drugs, which killed thousands of people.

“If the filing of these cases is not political persecution or a plot to diminish the power of the majority by the administration, then the minority senators who are admin aligned should show that such is the case by allowing majority senators to participate,” Marcos said.

“What prejudice or injury would online participation cause them? Would its impact on the majority bloc be greater than its impact on the millions who voted for the majority senators?” she went on. /mr