Minority Floor Leader Ronaldo Zamora FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Minority floor leader Ronaldo Zamora said there is no law prohibiting a senior public official from being jailed for a crime.
In a press briefing in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Zamora was asked about the possibility of jailing Senator Juan Ponce Enrile if the court convicts him of plunder in the pork barrel scam.
“No law like that in the Philippines that you cannot be jailed whether you’re 70, 80, or, in this case, 90 years old,” Zamora said.
He however said there must be “considerations” on detaining Enrile.
“Even if you’re 70 or 80 years old, I think you deserve some consideration from the courts. Regardless whether or not you’re guilty, I don’t think you want a 90-year-old to go through this,” Zamora added.
Enrile, along with senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr., were charged with plunder and graft before the Sandiganbayan.
They are accused of being involved in the scam of diverting their Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to ghost projects for kickbacks.
Also charged is alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, whose bogus non-government organizations were allegedly used as fronts for the scam.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had also said Enrile should be jailed in a camp instead of a jail. He added that there should be “leniency” in detaining the senior senator.
RELATED STORIES
42 graft raps filed vs Estrada, Enrile, Revilla, Napoles