Philippines: Senator Jinggoy Estrada posts ₱90,000 bail as arrest warrant lands — but bigger non-bailable plunder case looms

Manila: Senator Jinggoy Estrada surrendered to authorities and posted bail Friday after the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest over graft charges tied to an alleged multibillion-peso flood control kickback scheme, deepening the latest corruption crisis engulfing the Philippine Senate.

Estrada personally appeared before the Sandiganbayan Second Division and immediately posted ₱90,000 bail in response to the arrest warrant issued earlier in the day.

Hold-departure order

The anti-graft court also imposed a hold departure order barring the senator from leaving the country while the case proceeds.

“I am personally posting bail before the Sandiganbayan in relation to the arrest warrant issued by its Second Division,” Estrada said in a statement released to reporters Friday.

“Posting bail is a legal remedy available to me under our justice system, and I intend to avail myself of every lawful means to defend myself and clear my name,” he added.

Earlier, the anti-graft court’s 2nd Division directed the Quezon City Police District, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation to implement the warrant in connection with the alleged role of Estrada and Bonoan in the ghost flood control projects. Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano earlier said the plunder and graft cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against them involved “illicit” payouts amounting to ₱573 million.

The Sandiganbayan is a special anti-corruption court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft, corruption, and other offences committed by public officers and employees. It is considered the oldest specialised anti-corruption court in the world.

Kickbacks scandal

The arrest warrant stems from graft charges filed Thursday by the Office of the Ombudsman against Estrada and several others over alleged kickbacks from flood control and infrastructure projects.

Prosecutors accused the senator of receiving illicit payouts connected to budget insertions and public works contracts.

The Ombudsman’s complaint was largely based on allegations by former Department of Public Works and Highways engineer Brice Hernandez, who claimed Estrada manoeuvred hundreds of millions of pesos in infrastructure allocations in exchange for commissions.

But the senator’s legal troubles may worsen in the coming days.

Plunder case: Non-bailable

Estrada is also facing a separate plunder case — a non-bailable offense — involving allegations that he pocketed more than ₱573 million in kickbacks tied to infrastructure projects.

A second arrest warrant related to the plunder complaint is expected soon, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

Earlier Friday, Remulla said he had warned Estrada that he would either have to surrender voluntarily or face arrest.

The kickbacks scandal has drawn the ire of young Filipinos, especially in urban areas, where massive protests were held against the culture of corruption exposed by whistleblowers within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Jinggoy denies accusations

The senator has strongly denied all accusations.

“These accusations are baseless and false,” Estrada said Friday, adding that he respects the rule of law and expects due process from the courts.

The case marks another dramatic chapter in the long political and legal history of the Estrada family.

Jinggoy Estrada, the son of former president Joseph Estrada, has previously faced multiple corruption prosecutions.

He was jailed in 2014 during the multibillion-peso pork barrel scandal involving businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles before later being granted bail.

His father was himself convicted of plunder in 2007 following one of the Philippines’ most politically explosive corruption trials before later receiving executive clemency.

The new case also comes as the Philippine Senate faces growing instability tied to corruption investigations, the International Criminal Court’s probe into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, and intensifying factional conflict inside the chamber.

Fugitive Senator 'Bato'

AP reported that the cases against Jinggoy Estrada, who belongs to the Senate's 13-member majority bloc backing the Dutertes, have further shaken an already turbulent political environment.

Impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, who is also facing plunder charges, that will be tackled by the Senators acting as impeachment court judges, and a House team acting as prosecutors.

The fugitive status of Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, also identified with the pro-Duterte camp whose plea was junked by the Philippine Supreme Court, compounds the ongoing political conundrum amid International Criminal Court (ICC)-related proceedings.

Dela Rosa sought the court's intervention to block his possible arrest over a warrant issued by the ICC, and the SC ruled that his petition "lacked merit".

Dela Rosa appeared in the Senate floor on May 11, when then-Senate President Tito Sotto was replaced by Senator Allan Cayetano following a coup in the Upper legislative chamber.

Despite posting bail in the graft case, Estrada could still face detention if the Sandiganbayan's 5th Division issues a separate warrant for the non-bailable plunder charge in the coming days.