Justices deserve monuments if pork trial over by 2016
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Senate President Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said he would have monuments built in honor of the Sandiganbayan justices if they resolved the pork barrel cases in two years.
Drilon did not explain his two-year timetable, but it was clear he meant the cases should be decided before President Aquino steps down in 2016.
The former justice secretary said deciding the cases in two years was crucial to the country’s search for justice in the alleged diversion of P10 billion in public funds to the bank accounts of legislators, government officials and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.
The sooner the cases are resolved, the better for all the accused as well as the government, Drilon said.
But the cases are so numerous and staggering in scope that wrapping up the trial and handing down decisions in two years is quite a tall order, he said.
“I’ll have monuments built for the justices if they can do it in two years,” Drilon said, chuckling, in an interview on dzRH radio.
“But kidding aside, that’s the right thing to do. If they can do it in two years, that will be good, because that’s consistent with the constitutional provision on speedy trial,” he added.
Senators Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile have been indicted for plunder and graft along with their staff, Napoles and congressional representatives over the pork barrel scam.
No problem
Their cases have been raffled off to three divisions in the Sandiganbayan. Revilla and Estrada have been arrested and detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center at Camp Crame, Quezon City. Plunder being a capital offense, the accused are not allowed to post bail.
The Sandiganbayan is expected to rule soon on Enrile’s petition for determination of probable cause, after a review of the 10,000 documents submitted by the prosecution in filing charges against the 90-year-old Senate minority leader on June 6.
The absence of the three senators is not a problem for the Senate, which begins work on the 2015 budget in July, Drilon said.
“We will finish that before yearend, notwithstanding the fact that we’ll be missing three senators,” he said. “We’ll do everything that needs to be done.”
90-day suspension
Revilla and Estrada are expected to be suspended for 90 days following their indictment. They cannot discharge their legislative functions during that period, although they can take part in committee hearings and sign committee reports.
Once suspended, Estrada and Revilla will yield the chairmanships of the labor and public services committees, respectively, to the vice chairs, Drilon said.
Sen. Vicente Sotto III will take over as minority leader if Enrile is suspended, Drilon said.
“Once the Ombudsman files the petition to suspend them, their suspension will be automatic. The Sandiganbayan has no choice but to suspend them. After 90 days, they will still remain in detention. They can’t appeal because [plunder] is a nonbailable offense,” he said.
Originally posted at 9:54 pm | Wednesday, June 25, 2014
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