A pledge to remain inside the Senate’s self-styled independent majority cost Senator Jinggoy Estrada nothing, by his own account, even as people he would not name dangled the dismissal of his criminal cases in front of him. He said Monday, June 1, that those overtures came more than once and that he refused each one.
“Mas nanaig ang paninindigan ako na manatili sa hanay ng mga kasamahan ko sa independent majority bloc,” Estrada told reporters shortly after he was taken into custody.
The senator declined to put a face or a name to whoever supposedly approached him, leaving the matter open. “Kung sino sila, abangan n’yo na lang ang susunod na kabanata,” he said.
He framed his decision as a defense of the chamber rather than of himself. “I stand my ground because what is at stake here goes far beyond my personal circumstances. What is at stake is the independence of the Senate itself,” he said.
The charges against him center on graft and plunder allegations tied to roughly P573 million in kickbacks that prosecutors link to flood control projects. That figure makes Estrada the most senior official placed under detention since investigators began unraveling the flood control scandal.
His handling after the press appearance followed standard procedure. Officers processed him at Camp Crame in Quezon City, with his transfer to the Sandiganbayan expected next so the warrant can be formally returned.
From there, he is slated for confinement at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, the same facility holding others charged in connection with the flood control cases.
