Gatchalian: Estrada and Marcoleta Suspensions Deferred, Absent Senators Not Paid
GATCHALIAN – The Sandiganbayan suspension orders against Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta will be held in abeyance while their motions for reconsideration are pending, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said on Sunday, October 25, 2026.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Gatchalian confirmed that the Senate had received the suspension orders from the anti-graft court, as reported by INQUIRER.net on October 26.
“We also received letters from Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta asking that their suspensions be held in abeyance because we heard that they would file motions for reconsideration,” Gatchalian said.
“Once a motion for reconsideration is filed, the suspension will be deferred until the motion is finally resolved,” he added, noting that this follows the Senate’s past practice.
Earlier this month, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ordered another 90-day preventive suspension of Estrada, who faces a plunder charge linked to the alleged flood control kickback scheme. The order came after the expiration of an earlier suspension handed down by the court’s Second Division in June over separate graft charges. Read more: Jinggoy Estrada’s 3 Co-Accused Suspended for 90 Days by Court.
Last week, the Sandiganbayan Third Division also suspended Marcoleta for 90 days in connection with a plunder case over an alleged P75-million campaign donation he received while serving as a party-list lawmaker.
Gatchalian also confirmed that four absentee senators, Ronald dela Rosa, Marcoleta, Estrada and Loren Legarda, are currently not receiving their monthly salaries and office operating funds, The Philippine Star reported.
In Dela Rosa’s case, Gatchalian explained that the senator, who is hiding from an ICC arrest warrant, cannot sign the documents needed to release his office’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE). “He is not receiving salary. And he is also not receiving his MOOE because the MOOE needs his personal signature,” he said.
The regular staff of the affected senators continue to receive their pay, but their consultants do not. Legarda, meanwhile, has been without salary and MOOE for about three months because of an extended sick leave that she renews weekly. Gatchalian said he has not received any information on when she will return.
Photo: Newspapers.ph illustration. Sources: INQUIRER.net, The Philippine Star