No 'recognizance' option for senators in pork scam - Drilon

MANILA, Philippines - Senate minority leader Juan Ponce Enrile, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr.  cannot opt for recognizance from the Senate if the Sandiganbayan ordered their arrest in connection with the pork barrel scam.

“If you’re implying that if we can take them in our custody, no. We cannot because under the rules of court, taking a person in custody by another person is called recognizance,”  Drilon said.

Drilon explained that the Senate cannot take Estrada, Enrile and Revilla under recognizance because the  charge involved a non-bailable offense.

“In other words, you do not have to go to jail or post bail. You can be placed in the custody of a responsible citizen. But that remedy is available only in bailable offenses. If it is plunder, it is non-bailable and therefore, placing the accused in custody of the Senate is not an available remedy,” he added.

Drilon rejected suggestions that the pork barrel scam should be handled by an independent body, following various lists implicating more lawmakers in the scam.

“The investigation of the pork barrel scam fund is within the exclusive mandate of the Ombudsman because the Ombudsman’s mandate is constitutional. You cannot remove the Ombudsman in the prosecution on the pork barrel scam,” he said.

Citing the Constitution, Drilon added that the Ombudsman has jurisdiction over pursuing charges regarding graft cases. “This issue is a violation of the anti-graft law and therefore it is the Ombudsman,” he said.

If the Sandiganbayan issues warrants of arrest against the three senators, Drilon said they are  also facing preventive suspension from the Sandiganbayan.

“Yes because they will be preventively suspended by the Sandiganbayan because of the provision in Plunder Law that a preventive suspension is imposed on them, " Drilon said.

Once suspended from office, Drilon said the senators are stripped of their powers to file bills since their duties  as senator are also covered by the suspension.

He cited jurisprudence stating that the preventive suspension will last for 90 days.

“You cannot file  a bill because your functions as a senator will be suspended. You are preventively suspended. Now, let me however state for the record, that under the decisions of the Supreme Court, the preventive suspension, is for 90 days,” he said.

The former justice secretary cited the prevailing jurisprudence as outlined in the case of Governor Veloso where the Supreme Court said “that it is not correct to have a perpetual preventive suspension because if you suspend him, in effect, perpetually, you are in fact dismissing the public official because the term will expire when he is under preventive suspension.”

“So, the decision of the Supreme Court as in the case of Gov. Veloso was that the preventive suspension is obligatory to be imposed by the Sandiganbayan but it cannot last beyond 90 days,” Drilon said.

As regards the affected senators’ employees, Drilon said they will continue to work since they remain employees of the Senate.