Philippine Senator Accused of Plunder Over Graft Mess Surrenders

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine Senator Jinggoy Estrada has turned himself in to police after a court ordered his arrest on corruption charges as political tensions in the Southeast Asian nation escalate.

“I will not seek Senate custody,” Estrada told reporters on Monday. He then proceeded to voluntarily surrender to the police who served the arrest warrant at the chamber, saying he “will not use the Senate as a shield against the allegations against me.”

Estrada is the highest-ranking government official to be charged in a graft mess surrounding the nation’s flood infrastructure that has slowed the Southeast Asian economy and led to mass protests. The court on Friday ordered his arrest on a separate graft case linked to the same scandal but he was able to post bail.

Estrada claimed he received offers to defect from the Senate’s majority bloc in exchange for the dismissal of the cases against him. But he said he rejected them, without saying who made the proposals or providing evidence to back up his claim. The majority bloc is dominated by allies of Vice President Sara Duterte who’s locked in a bitter feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

“What is at stake here is the independence of the Senate. This institution must never become vulnerable to external pressure. It must remain free from political coercion,” Estrada said.

The surrender by Estrada, son of former President Joseph Estrada who was jailed for plunder and later on pardoned, comes just hours after the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court issued an arrest order against him over plunder and graft charges. 

The cases are in connection with his alleged role in the corruption scandal involving billions of pesos in state funds allocated for projects meant to mitigate flooding in the typhoon-prone country. Plunder is a non-bailable offense under the nation’s laws.

Estrada, 63, has said the allegations against him were “outright lies.” He was previously embroiled in another alleged corruption scheme involving lawmakers’ discretionary funds, but was later acquitted of plunder charges.

The cases against the senator come at a time when he and other colleagues in the Senate aligned with Vice President Duterte are holding on to a thin majority at the upper chamber. Any arrest could shift power at the 24-member Senate where Duterte is set to face an impeachment trial.

That majority includes another senator, Ronald Dela Rosa, who’s wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. He remains at large and is the subject of a police manhunt.  

Marcos is under pressure to hold politicians accountable for the massive corruption scandal, after the issue hit his popularity and soured investment sentiment towards the Philippines. Several other personalities including former lawmakers were earlier charged over the alleged scheme.

(Updates with comments from Estrada throughout.)

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