Senator Jinggoy Estrada surrendered on Monday after the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest on plunder charges stemming from an alleged P573-million kickback scheme linked to controversial flood control projects.
The development made Estrada the highest-ranking elected official arrested so far in the multibillion-peso scandal that has shaken the government.
The anti-graft court’s Fifth Division issued the warrant after the Office of the Ombudsman accused Estrada of receiving commissions from allegedly irregular flood control projects funded under the 2025 national budget.
No less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been dragged into the so-called Floodgate scandal in videos posted by expelled lawmaker Zaldy Co, who alleged that kickbacks in the billions of pesos had reached Malacañang.
Estrada’s case centers on allegations that public funds were funneled into infrastructure projects in exchange for predetermined kickbacks, with prosecutors claiming that he received more than P573 million in the scheme.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano earlier said investigators found evidence that “substantial public funds were deliberately funneled into designated infrastructure projects in exchange for predetermined commission fees or kickbacks.”
Plunder is a non-bailable offense punishable by life imprisonment.
Trifecta of arrests
The arrest marks the third plunder case faced by Estrada. He was previously charged in connection with the 2014 pork barrel scam but was acquitted in 2024. Prior to that he was charged along with his father, former President Joseph Estrada, of taking jueteng kickbacks during the term of the latter.
Included in the present case are former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan, assistant district engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna and district engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales Jr.
Former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former Metro Manila regional director Gerard Opulencia and Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara were dropped as respondents after they turned state witnesses.
Charges against former DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral were dismissed following her death in December 2025.
Personal service
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla personally led the service of the arrest warrant on Estrada at the Senate together with operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
“We arrested him. I went there personally together with the CIDG. He was read his Miranda Rights and, from there, he was brought here to Crame to be processed,” Remulla said.
Remulla said Estrada was informed of the charges in the presence of his lawyer and underwent the standard booking procedure, including fingerprinting, mugshots and a medical clearance.
“Senator Jinggoy cooperated fully together with the other accused,” Remulla said.
He said Estrada did not surrender but was formally arrested pursuant to the Sandiganbayan warrant.
Bato set bad precedent
Remulla assured that Estrada and his co-accused would not be given special treatment.
“They will be dealt with fairly, equally, no special privileges,” Remulla said.
He said Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano had initially objected to the arrest, citing the independence of the Senate, but the authorities proceeded with serving the warrant anyway.
Remulla said he told Cayetano the Senate had lost its privilege when Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa escaped. Dela Rosa fled the Senate and NBI arrest on 13 May.
“There’s no more hiding behind the curtains of the Senate,” Remulla said.
Bonoan hospitalized
Meanwhile, Remulla said all the respondents named in the warrant were accounted for, including Bonoan who was rushed to the Philippine National Police General Hospital after his blood pressure spiked during booking and medical processing.
He said Bonoan’s blood pressure rose to 192 over 100, prompting doctors to place him under hospital care and observation. Despite being hospitalized, Bonoan remains under government custody and will be guarded while receiving treatment.
Before surrendering to the authorities, Estrada strongly denied the allegations against him and insisted the case was politically motivated.
“I will not yield to threats. I will not be intimidated. I will not be pressured into surrendering my independence of judgment,” Estrada told reporters.
He said he would not seek custody of the Senate — something Dela Rosa did before he went into hiding a second time.
Estrada claimed he was approached with offers to dismiss the case if he left the Senate’s majority bloc.
“There were many offers to drop the charges against me, but I did not entertain them,” he said. “What is at stake here is the independence of the Senate.”
He also cited the findings of the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office that showed no evidence linking him to budget insertions in the 2025 national budget.
‘No politics’
Malacañang dismissed claims the case against Estrada was connected to Senate politics.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Estrada’s name surfaced during congressional investigations and in findings related to the flood control controversy long before the recent Senate realignment.
“It was a good decision by Senator Jinggoy to voluntarily surrender and not make law enforcers run after him, unlike what is happening now with Senator Bato,” Castro said.
She also rejected allegations that the executive branch influenced the filing of charges, noting that the Office of the Ombudsman is an independent constitutional body.