Jinggoy’s Senate office stripped before turnover

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Vicente Sotto III was supposed to move this week into the office of the Senate president pro tempore, which was occupied by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

There was no office to move into yesterday, however, as the space had been stripped bare, with Estrada’s office not coordinating about it with Sotto.

A staff from Sotto’s office told The STAR they were surprised by the removal of even the tiles, toilet fixtures and electric sockets, leaving the office of the Senate’s second highest post looking like a construction site.

The staff said the “usual practice” is just to clear the furniture and not “damage” the floor and walls, since the Senate was only renting a portion of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building.

Permanent fixtures such as electric sockets are GSIS property, they said.

“This is the first time that an office was left in such unusable condition. No correspondence whatsoever regarding this matter,” the staff said yesterday.

It is unclear where the furniture and other fixtures were taken.

Reporters sought a reaction from Estrada’s office, which said there is no statement “at the moment.”

Estrada is detained for plunder before the Sandiganbayan over the flood control controversy.

He served as Senate president pro tempore during the tenure of former Senate president Francis Escudero.

But when Sotto ousted Escudero from the post and Sen. Panfilo Lacson was elected Sotto’s pro tempore, Lacson did not move in.

When Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano ousted Sotto as Senate president last May, Sen. Loren Legarda was elected pro tempore.

She also did not move into the office, which means Estrada has remained in the pro tempore office until he vacated the office in that state.