Estrada surrenders to authorities following Sandiganbayan's arrest warrant for plunder
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has voluntarily surrendered himself to authorities after the Sandiganbayan 5th Division issued a warrant of arrest against him for a non-bailable plunder case.
The senator surrendered to the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on Monday afternoon, June 1, a few hours after the Sandiganbayan 5th Division ordered his arrest for plunder over his alleged involvement in the flood control scandal.
Estrada denied the corruption allegations against him in a press conference before his voluntary surrender.
He began by claiming he was offered many times to abandon the independent majority bloc in exchange for the dismissal of his case. "Ngunit hindi ko ito tinanggap," he continued. "Mas nanaig ang paninindigan ako na manatili sa hanay ng mga kasamahan ko sa independent majority bloc."
"Mismong ang Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office o LBRMO ang nagsabi sa Ombudsman na wala silang anumang dokumento o record na nagpapakita na ako ay nagpasok ng anumang insertion sa 2025 national budget. Ang mahalagang impormasyon na ito ay kinilala pa mismo ni dating Senate Blue Ribbon Chairman Panfilo Lacson bilang isang makabuluhang ebidensiya," he stressed.
Estrada said he has instructed the Senate secretary to put his salary on hold for now. "Personal kong pasya ito upang ipakita sa sambayanang Pilipino na wala akong intensyong makinabang sa pondo ng bayan habang nililinis ko ang aking pangalan."
He added he won't be seeking Senate custody as he faces the corruption accusations against him. "Hindi ko gagamitin ang Senado bilang panangga sa mga alegasyon sa akin. Nakahanda akong ipagtanggol ang aking sarili sa hukuman at hindi ako magtatago sa likod ng institutsyong ito upang umiwas sa proseso."
"Ipagtatanggol ko hanggang sa huli ang aking sarili para patunayan na walang batayan ang mga paratang sa akin," he said. "Kalokohan ang lahat ng ito."
"I will be proceeding now to the CIDG to surrender myself," he concluded his statement before leaving with the authorities.
In photos shared by The Philippine STAR, Estrada is seen on a PNP bus from the CIDG headquarters late afternoon.
Per the Sandiganbayan 5th Division's Clerk of Court, Estrada will be committed to the Quezon City Jail, which is located in Payatas.
Corruption allegations vs Estrada
Estrada was named by former DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez as among those who were allegedly involved in kickback schemes in Bulacan. The senator has since denied the claims and filed perjury charges against Hernandez in December 2025. The DOJ junked the case due to a lack of evidence.
On May 28, the Ombudsman filed plunder and graft charges against Estrada, Bonoan, and others as recommended by the Department of Justice for supposedly maneuvering allocations, rigging public bidding processes, and siphoning government funds stemming from major national infrastructure budget systems.
The following day, May 29, the Sandiganbayan 2nd Division issued an arrest warrant against him for graft. He was allowed to post a P90,000 bail later in the day.
This is Estrada's third time facing corruption accusations.
In 2001, he was jailed for plunder alongside his father, Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
Then in 2014, he was detained over his alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam, where he was accused of channeling Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations to bogus non-government organizations linked to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.
He was later granted bail in 2017 after the Sandiganbayan ruled that the evidence against him for plunder was not strong, although the case itself remained pending.