Philippine Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday that suspension may be necessary for government officials charged with plunder.
“If you’re not convicted but if you are charged with plunder which is considered non-bailable, it would be very difficult for you to discharge your duties. So perhaps in that particular point, I agree that there should be, maybe, a suspension while the trial is ongoing,” she said.
Poe made the statement when asked about her fellow senators charged with plunder in the “pork barrel scam” allegedly masterminded by Filipino businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.
38 officials have been charged with plunder at the Office of the Ombudsman, including Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Bong Revilla Jr., and Senate Minority Floor Leader Juan Ponce Enrile.
Sen. Poe felt saddened that some of her colleagues are involved in the scam.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has clarified that her office does not have the power to automatically suspend lawmakers implicated in the scam.
She said she was also not in the position to say if the Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court, can suspend a defendant charged with plunder “on its own motion”.
Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito expressed his belief that opposition lawmakers are being singled out in the investigations.
He said there are possible presidential candidates among opposition members who are being targeted by their colleagues with the ambitions for higher offices.
He challenged the administration to also investigate former lawmakers that he said are now part of the Cabinet.
““I pose this challenge to the committee, if we want to get to the bottom of this, why not investigate the leadership, we can start with leadership of the House, the leadership of the Senate, everybody,” he said.
“If they have nothing to hide then they should be subjected to the investigation as well,” he added.
Senators Estrada and Revilla, both of the opposition bloc, are expected to expose administration officials involved in the scam in their privilege speech next week.
Vice President Jejomar Binay hopes that the next batch of charges filed by the Department of Justice with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will not come from the opposition, to which he belongs.
“I hope it (charges) will not be (from the opposition) to erase speculation and accusations that they are targeting the opposition,” he said.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang will not compromise with legislators and individuals involved in the scam.
“I can guarantee you that there’s no compromise because once charges are filed, it’s no longer with us,” he said.
35 respondents to the plunder raps filed by the National Bureau of Investigation have been placed on the Bureau of Immigration’s lookout list.
The three senators charged were exempt from the list as they belonged to a co-equal branch of government.
The senate inquiry on the scam will resume on September 24.
(with reports from inquirer.net and abs-cbnnews.com)