Equal footing before the law was the thrust of a sharp rebuke from Akbayan party-list Rep. Atty. Chel Diokno, who questioned why a senator facing plunder would be afforded a choice that an ordinary citizen never receives.
His reaction landed after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla disclosed that he had personally reached out to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada to discuss how an expected arrest might proceed. “Talked to him already. I gave him options, and he said he will think about it,” Remulla told reporters, adding that the specifics would stay confidential until the senator decided. He has since framed the matter more bluntly, saying the senator may either turn himself in or be taken into custody.
For Diokno, the gesture exposed an uneven system. “Wow! Sana all may choices. Yung ordinaryong Pilipino, walang option. Kinulong agad dahil napagkamalang nanlilimos. Pero kapag makapangyarihang opisyal na may kasong plunder at graft, may pa-consultation muna?” he said, drawing a line between detained street dwellers and a powerful official under indictment. He pressed for uniformity in how cases are handled: “Dapat patas ang proseso. Walang special treatment, walang VIP lane, walang batas na para lang sa mahihirap.”
The charges trace back to the flood control projects controversy. The Office of the Ombudsman accused Estrada of benefiting from illegal budget insertions at the Department of Public Works and Highways and from illicit payouts totaling P573 million. Former DPWH chief Manuel Bonoan and several engineering officials from the agency’s National Capital Region office were named alongside the senator.
Events moved quickly after the filing. On Friday, May 29, the Sandiganbayan’s 2nd Division issued a warrant of arrest against Estrada in connection with his graft case, along with a hold departure order. He is contending with one plunder count and two graft counts.
Estrada has signaled he will not concede ground. He stated he intends to “exhaust all legal remedies,” with his legal team preparing to challenge what he characterized as procedural irregularities and a disregard for key evidence. Among the accused officials, he stands as the highest-ranking sitting government figure to be arrested over the flood control anomalies.
