MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Imee Marcos on Friday described the filing of plunder and graft charges against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and other members of the Senate majority bloc as “political persecution.”
Marcos issued the statement after the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder and graft cases against Estrada before the Sandiganbayan on Thursday.
Marcos and Estrada belong to the 13-member majority bloc led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.
“The timing of these cases and the attempt by the minority, who are, by the way, openly aligned with the administration, to block online participation by senators make it very clear that the cases against Jinggoy and other majority senators are not about justice or accountability,” Marcos said in a message to reporters. “It is about the desperation of the administration to hold on to power.”
Marcos said Sens. Rodante Marcoleta, Francis Escudero and Joel Villanueva, who are also members of the majority bloc, are under investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman for possible plunder and other charges.
Estrada, Escudero and Villanueva are linked to allegations involving flood control projects, while the complaint against Marcoleta involves alleged campaign donations amounting to P75 million during the 2025 elections.
Marcos said the senators are entitled to the presumption of innocence.
“At this point, jail is not considered punishment since they are presumed innocent,” she said.
Marcos also questioned objections from minority senators to a proposal by Marcoleta to amend Senate rules to allow senators to participate in sessions remotely.
She said preventing senators from joining sessions online would affect the representation of their constituents.
“Except for Senator Ronald dela Rosa, they are not really ‘fugitives,’” Marcos said. “They did not resist; they complied with whatever court order was issued. Their physical absence was involuntary.”
Dela Rosa has not attended Senate sessions since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest order against him in connection with the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
Dela Rosa served as chief of the Philippine National Police during the anti-drug campaign.
“If the filing of these cases is not political persecution or a plot to diminish the power of the majority by the administration, then the minority senators who are admin aligned should show that such is the case by allowing majority senators to participate,” Marcos said.