Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla described a tense exchange with one of Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s daughters during Monday’s operation to take the lawmaker into custody, saying the young woman directed an obscene gesture and a curse at him amid the heated proceedings.
Speaking to reporters at Camp Crame after Estrada had gone through processing at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group headquarters, the Cabinet official recounted the confrontation without naming the daughter involved. “There was a slight altercation between me and the daughter,” he said.
Remulla framed the moment as a product of the charged atmosphere rather than a deliberate affront. “She gave me the dirty finger and cursed at me. I said, ‘It’s okay. I understand you’re emotional’… It was nothing personal. Everyone became emotional,” he told the media, speaking partly in English and partly in Filipino.
The secretary acknowledged he was uncertain which of the senator’s daughters had confronted him. Estrada has two: Janella, who serves as undersecretary at the National Authority for Child Care, and Julienne.
The encounter unfolded as authorities carried out a Sandiganbayan order to detain Estrada along with four co-accused over plunder allegations tied to the flood control corruption scandal. The anti-graft court’s 5th Division issued the warrant earlier Monday, with the charges centered on an alleged P573-million kickback scheme drawn from anomalous flood control projects.
Remulla, who personally led the service of the warrant, has disputed the senator’s characterization of events. While Estrada said he was voluntarily surrendering, the interior chief maintained the lawmaker was formally arrested, noting he had been read his rights inside the Senate. The same operation saw Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano initially object to the arrest on grounds of legislative independence before authorities pressed ahead.
