(UPDATE) SEN. Jinggoy Estrada, charged with plunder, surrendered to the police Monday, saying he had turned down several offers from persons he did not identify to abandon the majority bloc in the Senate in exchange for a dismissal of the charges against him.
In a press conference before his surrender, Estrada said he would not seek Senate protection and would not accept his salary while he was defending himself in court.
"I will not be broken by accusations, nor will I yield to political pressure. I will meet these charges head-on, defend my honor through due process, and place my faith in the truth," Estrada said in a prepared statement.
In a press briefing, the senator said he will "remain firmly" with the majority bloc under the leadership of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
Cayetano, an ally of the Duterte clan, engineered a leadership change in the Senate on May 11, just ahead of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, with the senators sitting as judges.
"I will not yield to threats. I will not be intimidated. I will not be pressured into surrendering my independence of judgment," Estrada said.
The Palace dismissed suggestions that it had a role in the filing of plunder charges against him for alleged kickbacks from flood control projects.
“As far as I know, his name was mentioned last year when there was an investigation. Not only in the Senate investigation, but also in the House of Representatives,” said Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro. “They were also summoned to the ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure). Senator Jinggoy's name was also mentioned in Senator (Panfilo) Lacson's partial report,” Castro told reporters in Filipino.
“So, it cannot be said that this is about forming a majority consisting of 13,” she added.
Some members of the majority bloc such as the Senate president and Sens. Imee Marcos, Rodante Marcoleta, Camille Villar, and Mark Villar were present to lend him support.
Estrada claimed that he was offered several times to abandon the majority group in exchange for the dismissal of the charges against him but did not identify who approached him.
“Whoever they are, just wait for the next episode," he said in Filipino.
In the presence of Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Estrada surrendered to the arresting team from the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation Division Group (PNP-CIDG) after the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant for his arrest on plunder charges.
After Estrada’s surrender, the Senate resumed its session. Last week’s session was abruptly adjourned after the minority bloc waked out to protest what they said was a railroading of a vote to change the Senate rules to allow absent senators to vote online, a move they said would enable Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who is in hiding to avoid arrest on charges of crimes against humanity, and other senators from the majority bloc who are facing arrest, to still cast their vote on crucial issues, including the impeachment trial.
Headed for jail
Estrada will be committed to the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division clerk of court confirmed.
Earlier on Monday, the court ordered the arrest of Estrada and four others including former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan in the plunder case filed against them last week by the Office of the Ombudsman.
The three others were former DPWH-National Capital Region officials Denryl Caesar Cortuna, Manny Bulusan, and Arturo Gonzales Jr.
Estrada and Bonoan have both denied the charges.
Sent to hospital
In a press briefing, Remulla said Bonoan was sent to hospital for hypertension, where he will stay until his condition stabilizes.
“When the doctors say that he is fit to stand trial, then he will be brought to the Sandiganbayan. Meanwhile, he has been given full security. He won’t be able to leave. And we restricted access to him,” he said.
Remulla said Bonoan is currently under hospital arrest but has not been indicted yet.
In a statement Thursday, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the case stemmed from ”an intricate mechanism involving illegal budgetary insertions and project allocations” within the DPWH infrastructure portfolio for fiscal year 2025.
“Our evaluation shows that substantial public funds were deliberately funneled into designated infrastructure projects in exchange for predetermined commission fees or kickbacks. Case records point to an accumulated sum of illicit payouts amounting to an aggregate sum of over P573 million which were systematically delivered to the principal respondent, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada,” he added.
Clavano acknowledged that the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office had issued a certificate on the absence of records that Estrada made budget insertions, but said the certificate "does not capture all stages of the budgetary process, wherein insertions may be made in a layered method." Estrada posted a P90,000 bail for his graft charges while plunder, a case punishable by reclusion perpetua, is a non-bailable offense.
Estrada was taken to the CIDG for booking including taking of mugshots and was turned over to the Sandiganbayan for issuance of commitment order.
Comparison to dela Rosa
In her remarks from the Palace, Castro said Estrada's surrender was "good" because he did not evade authorities, unlike dela Rosa who has gone into hiding after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant in connection with the past leadership’s bloody war on drugs.
“Senator Jinggoy did the right thing by voluntarily surrendering. Not like what is happening now with Senator Bato. That’s what should be done by someone who knows he has a valid arrest warrant,” Castro said.
Meanwhile, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora on Monday urged the public to respect the legal process after warrants of arrest were issued against Estrada in connection with plunder and graft cases.
In a statement sent to The Manila Times, Zamora said the cases are now before the Sandiganbayan, which he described as the proper venue to hear and resolve the allegations.
He said the court should be allowed to examine the evidence, determine the facts, and render judgment based on the rule of law.
Zamora acknowledged that the issue may stir strong emotions among residents because of Estrada’s long association with San Juan City.
“As a San Juaneño, I understand how emotional this issue can become,” he said.
Despite this, the mayor said respect for institutions and the judicial process must prevail as the cases move forward.
He added that Estrada should answer the charges against him and be given the opportunity to defend himself before the court.
Zamora said due process remains essential in ensuring accountability is carried out properly. WITH IZEL ABANILLA, KRISTINA MARALIT AND JAMES DANIEL DANIO
