Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has called for prudence and respect for due process following reports that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has recommended the filing of plunder and indirect bribery cases against Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva.
The ICI was created under Executive Order No. 94, signed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on September 11, to serve as a fact-finding body tasked with investigating alleged irregularities in government infrastructure projects. The commission is empowered to endorse its findings to the Office of the Ombudsman or the Sandiganbayan for possible criminal, civil, or administrative charges.
In a message to reporters through a Viber group chat, Sotto underscored the importance of observing constitutional and legal safeguards when handling such sensitive matters.
“There are constitutional, legal and political issues to these investigations. And there will be as many opinions as there are lawyers. I would rather be prudent and follow the rule of law and avoid putting the Senate in the line of fire,” said Sotto.
He also stressed that due process and the system of checks and balances must prevail to protect the rights of both individuals and institutions.
“We have due process in law and a system of check and balance in the government to balance and protect the rights of individuals and institutions as well,” he added.
When asked whether the Senate would take any official action or allow the senators involved to defend themselves, Sotto replied, “I cannot comment not knowing the background of that report.”
According to reports, the ICI has recommended the filing of cases before the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan in connection with alleged anomalies uncovered in its preliminary investigation of certain government infrastructure projects.