In debate on conviction threshold, Padilla says he may soon miss hearings too

MANILA — Senator-judge Robin Padilla on Wednesday appealed to his colleagues to refrain from making statements against fellow senators after Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo talked about how some are unable to attend trial because of graft cases.

Tulfo, who has suggested adjusting the conviction threshold because of senators’ absences, at one point used the term “magnanakaw”, or thief, but did not refer to anyone.

In his own manifestation, Padilla said he might eventually be unable to attend sessions. He is under investigation for allegedly helping Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa evade an International Criminal Court warrant last May.

“[M]alinaw naman po na baka ito na rin ang huli ko ditong araw. Hindi ko na rin alam,” Padilla said as the Senate court tackled the threshold to convict an impeached official.

(It is clear that it may be my last day here. I don’t know.)

He said that colleagues seemed to already have judged him and others facing complaints and cases.

“‘Wag n’yo naman kaming idiin. Ang hearing ko sa Biyernes na, di ko alam kung ano pa susunod. Baka ma-miss ko na kayo,” he said.

(Don’t push us down. My hearing is on Friday and I don’t know what will happen will happen next. I might miss you.)

Padilla issued the statement Tulfo noted that some senators were beyond the “coercive power or jurisdiction” of the Senate due to various circumstances.

Tulfo said Sen. Loren Legarda has been on medical leave while Dela Rosa is in hiding. 

He added that Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta have been detained for their plunder cases. 

Tulfo at one point used the term “magnanakaw” but did not refer to anyone.

An emotional Senator-judge Camille Villar expressed disappointment over Tulfo’s characterization of her colleagues in the minority and she appealed to stop the “attacks” against them.

She pointed out that courts have yet to decide Estrada and Marcoleta’s cases they are presumed innocent.

Tulfo apologized for his remarks but clarified that he did not refer to anyone as a “convicted plunderer.”

“The statements were not attacks against our fellow senators but merely confronting the present reality that some senators are physically or legally unable to participate in the impeachment trial,” he said.