Detained Senator Can’t Hold Public Office – Carpio

A senator who is detained for criminal charges cannot be included in a Senate quorum count or majority vote, according to retired Supreme Court (SC) senior associate justice Antonio Carpio.

“A senator who is a detention prisoner cannot hold public office, thus, he cannot attend Senate sessions or vote. Necessarily, he cannot be included in determining any quorum or majority vote,” he said in a text message to The Philippine STAR on Sunday, June 7.

He cited the case of People versus Maceda in 2000, wherein the high tribunal’s First Division ruled that private respondent Avelino Javellana must be put behind bars at the Antique Provincial Jail for continuing to practice law despite his detention at the residence of another lawyer.

“Let it be stressed that all prisoners whether under preventive detention or serving final sentence cannot practice their profession nor engage in any business or occupation, or hold office, elective or appointive, while in detention. This is a necessary consequence of arrest and detention,” according to the ruling.

The People versus Maceda decision was also cited in the Trillanes versus Pimentel case in 2008, when the SC essentially ruled to deny the request of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV – who was facing cases related to the “Oakwood mutiny” in 2003 – to be freed from detention to be able to work as a lawmaker.

Asked why Leila de Lima was allowed to file bills when she was held on drug charges as a senator, Carpio said no one had challenged it.

“Besides, the Plunder Law provides that a public official charged with plunder before the Sandiganbayan shall be suspended from office. So Jinggoy (Estrada) cannot file bills,” he told The STAR, citing Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7080 or the Plunder Law.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is currently detained on charges of plunder and graft over his alleged involvement in the flood control scandal.