No jail for Jinggoy Estrada — for now

MANILA, Philippines – At 1:34 pm on Friday, May 29, the Sandiganbayan 2nd Division issued a warrant of arrest against Senator Jinggoy Estrada and fellow accused over their graft case in relation to the flood control scam. The charge is bailable.

Interior chief Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said they will no longer implement the warrant because Estrada vowed to surrender to court authorities. Per practice, the police have the discretion whether or not to arrest a suspect who has announced his or her surrender.

Estrada did not come from his house in San Juan City, as expected, and instead surprised reporters with his arrival at the anti-graft court at 4:09 pm. His children joined him.

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The security was heavy, and things turned physical when some of the security personnel pushed journalists and other staff to give way to Estrada and his companions. At one point, one of the women accompanying the senator even shouted.

Estrada and his entourage entered the 2nd Division’s office, where he posted a P90,000 bail for his graft case. They stayed in the office for a while. Estrada was also seen hugging one of his companions.

The senator was mum about his cases. He was asked multiple times about his thoughts on facing a plunder case for the third time, but he did not respond. While waiting for his bail’s processing, he remained inside the Sandiganbayan with his family and lawyers.

Personnel of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation were spotted inside the court holding paraphernalia, such as thumbmark ink pads, used in booking arrested suspects. As it turned out, Estrada had still undergone a booking procedure even if he had surrendered

“Why are we doing that? We’re not in a police station. He’s not surrendering to police custody; he’s surrendering to the Sandiganbayan that issued the order. So, it seems unnecessary,” Estrada’s lawyer, Noel Ostrea, told Rappler.

At 6:08 pm, Estrada left the anti-graft court as a free man for now after posting bail.

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Estrada’s fellow accused, former Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan, also arrived in the Sandiganbayan to post a P90,000 bail. Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg confirmed to reporters that she also received Bonoan’s bail.

Is there a looming arrest?

Estrada is facing three cases over his alleged involvement in the flood control corruption: two counts of graft and one count of plunder.

He walked free from the Sandiganbayan because it’s only the 2nd Division — which handles his other graft case — that issued a warrant. He will be detained once the 5th Division, handling the other graft case and the plunder, issues a warrant because plunder is non-bailable.

Coincidentally, it’s also the 5th Division that handled Estrada’s pork barrel-related graft and plunder cases. The said division acquitted Estrada of plunder in 2024, while his graft cases are still pending. The big difference now is that the sitting chairperson is Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses, who was among the justices who dissented in the Sandiganbayan decision granting Estrada bail in 2017.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Econg said the 5th Division has yet to issue a warrant because the chamber is still deliberating the motion filed by Estrada’s camp. Ostrea said they filed a motion on Friday morning, asking the courts to withhold the issuance of warrants.

“In our case, in the 2nd Division, we acted on the case before the motions were filed. When we looked at the case, there were no pending motions or anything,” Econg told reporters, explaining why they issued a warrant ahead of the other division.

Ostrea said they will file another motion on Monday, June 1, questioning the Ombudsman’s process in charging Estrada.

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“We hope that the justices of the Sandiganbayan understand that we, through our client, have not received a copy of the Ombudsman resolution charging him with crimes. We have not received a copy of the DOJ (Department of Justice) resolution charging him with crimes,” said the lawyer.

Estrada was given due process during the proceedings. As the top anti-graft body, the Ombudsman deputized the DOJ to probe flood control-related cases. There, Estrada filed his counter-affidavit to answer the allegations against him.

In addition, the Ombudsman has the exclusive jurisdiction to file cases against high-ranking officials, so it approved the cases against Estrada based on the evidence assessed by the DOJ. Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said on Thursday, May 28, that they did a “rigorous and independent evaluation of the investigation” conducted by the DOJ before filing the cases. – Rappler.com