Jinggoy Estrada detained in Payatas jail after arrest for plunder case

MANILA, June 2 ------ Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was detained at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas following his voluntary surrender to face the arrest warrant for his plunder case tied to the flood control controversy.

Former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who is facing a flood control-related malversation case, is detained in the same jail. The Department of the Interior and Local Government, in a statement, said based on a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) report, Estrada, Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna, District Engineer Manny Bumagat Bulusan, and District Engineer Arturo Lombres Gonzales Jr. were transferred from the Sandiganbayan to the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory on Monday following the completion of all required legal, medical, and custodial procedures.

The BJMP said Cortuna was admitted at 5:47 p.m., while Estrada, Bulusan, and Gonzales were admitted at 8:15 p.m. after undergoing the prescribed medical assessments. "Upon medical clearance, they were admitted to the general population in accordance with existing custodial procedures," the DILG said. It added that emphasizes that all persons committed to BJMP custody are processed and treated under the same rules and detention protocols regardless of position or status. "Court orders are implemented, due process is observed, and the law is applied equally to all," the DILG said.

Earlier in the day, Estrada said he would not seek protective custody from the Senate and surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). He was subsequently arrested, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said. "Sumama po si Jinggoy, binasahan siya ng Miranda rights niya, kasama ang kanyang abogado... Mapayapa siyang sumama dito sa CIDG, prinocess, inaresto," Remulla said in a separate press briefing.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued the warrant of arrest against Estrada just days after he posted bail for a separate graft case handled by the Second Division. Aside from Estrada, also facing arrest are ex-DPWH Sec. Manuel Bonoan and other former DPWH-NCR officials over their alleged involvement in the flood control controversy. But Remulla said Bonoan was heading first to a hospital "because his hypertension was listed at 192/100." "Imminent na yung stroke niya at 192," Remulla said. "He will be kept there for an undetermined amount of time before he stabilizes. And when the doctor says he is fit to stand trial, he will be brought to the Sandiganbayan," he said. "Meanwhile, full security po siya, hindi po siya makakalabas, at restricted access papunta sa kanya," the interior chief added.

He said Estrada and the other accused "were found to be in good health.” The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued the warrant of arrest against Estrada just days after he posted bail for his separate graft case related to the flood control mess. Estrada claimed that he rejected offers from unnamed sources to turn his back on the Senate majority bloc supposedly in exchange for the junking of his cases. "Hindi ako matitinag sa anumang panggigipit, pananakot, political maneuvering para talikuran ang paninindigan kong ito. I will not yield to threats. I will not be intimidated. I will not be pressured into surrendering my independence of judgment," he said.

Malacañang belied Estrada’s allegations, underscoring that the lawmaker’s name had been imputed in anomalous projects long before the Senate power struggle this year. “Wala pa pong binubuo na majority sa pamumuno ni Sen. Alan Cayetano ay mayroon na silang issues na hinaharap. Baka sila ang namumulitika ang hindi ang ehekutibo,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told Palace reporters in a chance interview.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com