MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has ordered the suspension of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is facing plunder and grat cases over the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds, from office.
The suspension will be implemented for 90 days and Estrada's office will be unable to carry out its functions and duties.
The Office of the Ombudsman has previously asked the court to suspend, Estrada, and his colleague Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. over their alleged involvement in the multi-billion scheme.
In separate motions, the Office of the Ombudsman asked the First and Fifth Divisions of the anti-graft court to suspend the two accused as senators.
"To prevent the accused from committing further acts of malfeasance, tamper with documentary evidence and intimidate or influence witnesses in the case, it is necessary that the accused be suspended from the office while the case is pending in court," the motions said.
Aside from the two senators, government prosecutors also asked the Sandiganbayan to issue a suspension order against Revilla's staff, Richard Cambe, ranked as Director 3 in the senate's roster.
The court's approval of Jinggoy's suspension means that he will also be temporarily banned from holding any other public office "pending trial."
Estrada allegedly pocketed P183 million from the same scam.
Revilla, on the other hand, is accused of receiving P224 million in kickbacks from the scam that allegedly diverted his Priority Development Assistance Funds allocation from anti-poverty and development funds allotted to lawmakers’ pet projects.