Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

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ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1784616040079viber_image_2026-07-21_09-57-04-670 (5).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Human rights groups on Tuesday called out Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano for his remark labelling detained Senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada, both facing plunder charges, as &quot;political prisoners.&quot;<em> Joseph B. Vidal, Senate Social Media Unit, and Maria Tan &amp; Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Human rights groups on Tuesday called out Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano for his remark labelling detained senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada, who are both facing plunder cases, as &quot;political prisoners.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/20/escudero-marcoleta-says-he-can-vote-in-impeachment-trial-while-detained-1858">Escudero: Marcoleta says he can vote in impeachment trial while detained</a></div><p>In a statement, Kapatid, a support organization of families and friends of political prisoners, said the defining characteristic of political imprisonment is political persecution, which for them does not apply to the cases of the two lawmakers.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/1/jinggoy-estrada-detained-in-payatas-jail-after-surrender-for-plunder-case-2048">Jinggoy Estrada, 3 co-accused detained in Payatas jail after arrest for plunder case</a></div><p>&quot;[T]he cases of these politicians and their den of thieves do not fit the definition. Their detention arises from stealing millions of public and campaign funds for personal gain—serious offenses involving the abuse of public office and the betrayal of public trust. They are not political prisoners,&quot; Kapatid said.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F2925221857822072%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=267&amp;t=0" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Marcoleta was arrested earlier this month after he surrendered to face his non-bailable plunder charges over the alleged nondisclosure of P75 million in campaign donations.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/6/marcoleta-arrest-plunder-1023">Marcoleta arrested for non-bailable plunder case</a></div><p>Estrada was arrested in June also for a plunder case tied to the flood control controversy. </p><p>&quot;To describe those charged with corruption as &#x27;political prisoners&#x27; distorts both law and history. The term &#x27;political prisoner&#x27; is not a rhetorical device to sanitize corruption. It is reserved exclusively for those deprived of liberty for exercising their fundamental rights in the struggle for genuine social justice,&quot; Kapatid added.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid021nFc524yREWGZ47YHwEJcWzXVa7UmFGYqDMYa2vN3uV53c4qkGHKd7PF7pCqiaBcl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="611" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, LAYA campaign spokesperson Amanda Echanis, a former political prisoner, lambasted Cayetano&#x27;s description of Estrada and Marcoleta, calling it a &quot;grave insult to the 560 political prisoners and scores of former political prisoners who have been persecuted by the State.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/19/lacson-hints-at-jail-time-for-alan-peter-cayetano-as-senate-spat-escalates-1047">Lacson hints at jail time for Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate spat escalates</a></div><p>&quot;Excuse me, Sen. Cayetano, but plunderers cannot be considered as such because they are simply crooks in authority and mercenaries of their political patrons,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;They steal from public funds, live in luxury at the behest of the people’s poverty, and when made accountable for their crimes, they use their political capital to affirm the double standard of justice in the countr.&quot;</p><p>Echanis accused Cayetano of &quot;using the language of human rights&quot; to defend his allies in the Senate minority as well as his alleged &quot;political patron&quot; Vice President Sara Duterte in the impeachment court.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/15/-binabawasan-talaga-kami-iniisa-isa-cayetano-says-2019-sea-games-probe-aims-to-intimidate-him-1433">‘Binabawasan talaga kami, iniisa-isa’: Cayetano says 2019 SEA Games probe aims to ‘intimidate’ him</a></div><p>Cayetano earlier floated the accusation that members of the Senate minority were being &quot;taken out&quot; one by one supposedly related to the ongoing impeachment trial of Duterte.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cONMfK8nrDs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F1zrI7-kDpo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4KmFOJ2dEiU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Human rights groups on Tuesday called out Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano for his remark labelling detained Senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada, both facing plunder charges, as "political prisoners."</p>

Human rights groups on Tuesday called out Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano for his remark labelling detained Senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada, both facing plunder charges, as "political prisoners."

'A grave insult': Groups slam Cayetano for labelling Marcoleta, Jinggoy 'political prisoners'

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'A grave insult': Groups slam Cayetano for labelling Marcoleta, Jinggoy 'political prisoners'

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 21, 2026 02:49 PM PHT

|

Updated July 21, 2026 05:09 PM PHT

Read More:

alan petert cayetano

rodante marcoleta

jinggoy estrada

plunder

corruption

karapatan

kapatid

political prisoners

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