Photo from Rappler

by Alexia Bangayan

On Monday, June 1, Senator Jinggoy Estrada surrendered to the members of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) following the Sandiganbayan’s issuance of an arrest warrant over plunder and graft charges.

Alongside Estrada, also charged in the case are former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan, DPWH National Capital Region District Engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzalez, Jr., and Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna. 

Following the issuance of the warrant, Estrada said during the press conference that he would not seek protective custody from the chamber and instead intends to address the accusations against him.

“If this is the price I must pay for the decisions I have made and the principles I have chosen to uphold, then I am prepared to face the consequences—however difficult they may be, especially for my family,” he stressed. 

Moreover, the senator claimed that he had been approached several times with offers to join the Senate minority bloc in exchange for the alleged dismissal of the charges against him, which he refused.

Estrada was then escorted out of the Senate premises by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, along with the members of the majority bloc, before proceeding to Camp Crame to voluntarily surrender.

The surrender came despite Estrada’s earlier rejection of the allegations against him, stating that there was no evidence linking him to any budget insertion in 2025 and questioning the basis for the charges filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.

”How can the Office of the Ombudsman file a plunder case against me when I am not even alleged to be part of, or the mastermind of, the supposed scheme? Wala akong kinalaman dyan,” he argued.

The senator also emphasized that the case carried broader implications beyond his personal situation, saying that, in his view, the independence of the Senate was among the institutions at stake.

Earlier, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division released a second warrant of arrest against Sen. Estrada for a non-bailable plunder and graft case of P573-million related to the flood control probe.

The lawmaker also posted P90,000 bail for a separate graft case from the Second Division, filed last May 29.

Estrada is currently the highest-ranking incumbent government official charged in connection with the flood control scandal.