Philippine senator Jinggoy Estrada charged with plunder, says he will surrender

01/06/2026

MANILA, Philippines (AP), Jun 1: A Philippine senator said Monday that he will surrender after a court ordered his arrest on a charge of plunder linked to a huge kickback in a flood-control project.

The special Sandiganbayan anti-graft court had initially issued a warrant for Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s arrest on Friday on a graft charge that was bailable. He then surrendered and was released on bail and again denied any wrongdoing.

Estrada, 63, has strongly denied allegations mainly by a former government public works engineer that he received more than 570 million pesos ($9.3 million) in kickbacks from flood control projects.