Detained senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are assigned chairmanships in the Philippine Senate despite their detention over plunder charges. On Wednesday, Estrada is named chair of the Senate committee on electoral reforms, while Marcoleta is named chair of the Senate panel on tourism. The appointments are made through the Senate minority bloc’s committee leadership selections, led by minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who chooses the bloc’s committee chairmanships. The selection is described as accommodating a request from Senate majority leader Miguel Zubiri for the detained senators to “get back to work” despite their current schedules. The reports also note that the minority bloc members are given their corresponding committee chair roles without objections. The sources align on the committee assignments for Estrada and Marcoleta and the fact that both are detained at the time of their appointment. The articles do not indicate any change to the detention status or to the pending plunder cases.