Go hopes Estrada will be given chance to fulfill mandate after another preventive suspension

Sen. Bong Go and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. Joseph Vidal, Senate Social Media Unit; Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Senator Bong Go respects the order of the Sandiganbayan preventively suspending his fellow minority bloc member Senator Jinggoy Estrada for another 90 days, but hopes Estrada will be given a chance to perform his mandate.

“We are [a] co-equal branch of government. Nirerespeto po natin ang desisyon ng Korte. Ngunit bilang isang kapwa Senador, he is still a sitting Senator. Sana po mabigyan po siya ng pagkakataon na makapag-function at makapag-perform naman po bilang Senator,” Go said on Wednesday.

“I wish him well. Sana po ay makabalik na rin po siya sa trabaho sa lalong madaling panahon. Not only dito po sa impeachment but sa function niya bilang isang sitting Senator,” he added.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, on October 12, suspended Estrada anew after the Second Division’s 90-day suspension expired.

The Second Division is handling Estrada’s graft case for his supposed involvement in the flood control anomaly, while the Fifth Division is handling his plunder case.

Estrada repeatedly denied claims that he influenced or received kickbacks from flood control works.