Before 2 pm on Monday, June 1, there was buzz that the Sandiganbayan 5th Division had issued a warrant for Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s plunder and graft case.

Eleven minutes after 2 pm, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla confirmed the warrant to Rappler. He said the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP CIDG) would implement it.

Shortly after that, the Sandiganbayan also confirmed the issuance of the warrants. Unlike the ones issued by the Sandiganbayan 2nd Division on Friday, May 29, these warrants hold more weight because plunder is non-bailable.

Before 3:30 pm, Remulla arrived at the Senate building where Estrada was staying. CIDG personnel were also spotted there.

Estrada held a press conference at around 3:45 pm to face his impending arrest. He announced that he had asked the Senate to withhold his salary while detained. He also claimed, again, that his cases stemming from flood control corruption were politically motivated.

“Ngayon ko lang isasapubliko ito: Maraming beses akong inalok na talikuran ang independent majority bloc kapalit ang pagbabasura sa aking kaso, ngunit hindi ko ito tinanggap. Mas nanaig ang paninindigan na manatili ako sa hanay ng mga kasamahan ko sa independent majority bloc,” said the senator who had been previously acquitted in two plunder cases.

(This is the first timeI will say this in public: I was offered many times to leave the independent majority bloc in exchange for the dismissal of my case, but I did not take the offer. My resolve to remain with my colleagues at the independent majority bloc prevailed.)

In response, the Office of the Ombudsman, which charged Estrada and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan before the Sandiganbayan last week, said Estrada should not mix accountability with politics.

“If there are people who attempt to blur the line between politics and accountability, they should be held liable too. There’s no other person who can decide on the Ombudsman’s behalf in relation to cases, because this act, too, is a form of corruption,” said Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano.

Estrada, along with Bonoan and some DPWH NCR officials, are facing plunder and two counts of graft over their alleged involvement in budget insertions related to flood control corruption. According to the Ombudsman, Estrada allegedly received P573 million from the scheme.

Plunder may only be filed if the amount in question is at least P50 million.

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Arrested, apparently

After his Senate speech, Estrada did not entertain questions from the media. He immediately left the upper chamber with CIDG personnel. Remulla said Estrada was arrested by the CIDG, and apparently did not surrender to the police.

“He was read his Miranda Rights, while he was with his lawyer…He peacefully came with the CIDG, was processed, and then arrested,” said the interior chief in Filipino.

The discussion on whether an accused has surrendered or was arrested is an important detail in criminal proceedings. Voluntary surrender is considered a mitigating circumstance or a factor that could be taken into consideration by a court in lowering the sentence of an accused.

Under Article 13(7) of the Revised Penal Code, if the accused had not been nabbed or if he or she surrendered himself/herself to authorities, the surrender can be considered voluntary.

Estrada voluntarily surrendered himself to the Sandiganbayan 2nd Division on Friday, May 29, when it issued the warrant for the other count of graft. Remulla told Rappler last week that they were in communication with Estrada, and would allow him to turn himself in to the anti-graft court.

But things were different for the plunder and graft cases, as far as Remulla is concerned, because Estrada was arrested.

“It was not a classic case of voluntary surrender, since there was resistance at the start. It is clear that the intention, at the first instance, was to evade arrest, and it was only when the arrest appeared inevitable that he opted for a ‘voluntary surrender.’ This is a negating circumstance that will disqualify him from the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender,” National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers president Ephraim Cortez told Rappler.

Another arrest at the Senate

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano — the same Cayetano who protected International Criminal Court suspect Senator Bato dela Rosa from being arrested — also attempted to block Estrada’s arrest while at the Senate.

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“Respect the institution. This is not about Jinggoy. We’re going out,” Cayetano told Remulla and the CIDG.

“Sir, just outside the gate. We’re gonna walk five minutes. This is the Senate of the Philippines, it’s never been done,” he added.

Recalling the commotion with Cayetano, Remulla said he replied to the Senate president with this: “(I told him) you lost that privilege when Bato escaped…. We will inform them, we will give them the courtesy, but if there’s an arrest to be made, we will make the arrest.”

Cayetano was wrong. Both former senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Leila de Lima had been served their respective warrants while within the Senate compound. Trillanes after the revocation of his amnesty, and De Lima for her alleged drug cases.

Plus, former Senate president Franklin Drilon said this “protective custody” was only a tradition started by former Senate president Jovito Salonga, and not a rule.

“A senator is only immune from arrest while the Senate is in session and if the penalty of the alleged crime is below six (6) years imprisonment. According to Republic Act No. 9851, crimes against humanity where death occurred is punishable by reclusion perpetua (40 years),” former Far Eastern University law dean Mel Sta. Maria said at the height of Dela Rosa’s hiding at the Senate.

Graft is punishable for up to 10 years, while plunder may carry the penalty of reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years.

Back in Crame, Sandiganbayan

Around seven minutes before 4:30 pm, Estrada arrived in Camp Crame, the PNP’s National Headquarters. He was there to undergo booking procedures before the police that included medical examination, taking of his thumb marks, and mugshots.

Cayetano accompanied Estrada to the CIDG’s National Capital Region office.

Security was tight. As Estrada entered the building, the combined weight of people accompanying him was too much for the CIDG’s glass door, causing it to break.

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Estrada stayed in Camp Crame for almost an hour. Crame was a familiar place for Estrada because after he was charged for plunder and graft due to his alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam, he was held inside the PNP Custodial Center.

The senator spent a year and three months under the PNP’s custody before. He was held there from June 23, 2014, under the Aquino administration, until the Sandiganbayan granted his bail request on September 15, 2017, under the Duterte administration.

His fellow accused in the pork barrel scam, former senator Bong Revilla, was also detained in Camp Crame at the height of his cases.

After his booking process, Estrada headed to the Sandiganbayan for his return of warrant and commitment order.

Return of warrant is a mandatory part of the proceedings where arresting officers report how they carried out the court’s order. A commitment order, meanwhile, is issued by a court to announce where an accused will be held while his/her trial is ongoing.

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A few minutes before 6 pm, Estrada and his entourage arrived at the Sandiganbayan’s 5th Division. His children accompanied him inside. There, Estrada was seen talking to his lawyers and family members. He was also seen undergoing booking procedure anew.

Estrada’s pork barrel cases were under the 5th Division, too. Despite this, his booking procedure was still mandatory because case files are supposed to be exclusive for each charge. His case files for pork barrel cannot be reused for the flood control charges.

Ahead of Estrada’s arrival at the anti-graft court, the 5th Division already confirmed that he would be detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas. Escorted by the Sandiganbayan’s security and the CIDG, Estrada and his companions left the court at around 7:40 pm after receiving his commitment order.

While walking toward his vehicle, reporters asked Estrada about his third time facing the case, and whether he surrendered or not. But the senator remained mum and did not respond to the questions.

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Regular jail for Jinggoy

At past 8 pm, Estrada arrived at the Payatas jail, where his friend and ally Revilla is detained too. The former senator is facing malversation and graft cases due to an alleged ghost project in Bulacan.

Estrada is back in jail after almost nine years.

This time around, however, he is not being held at PNP Custodial Center, where high-profile accused are detained. Estrada is inside a regular jail facility designated by the DILG as an official holding cell for accused who are facing flood control cases.

The possibility of Estrada being held again in Camp Crame was slim to none in the first place.

Revilla tried asking the Sandiganbayan in January to stop him from being committed in Payatas, citing perceived violence. But the attempts were in vain because the anti-graft court still decided to commit him in the New Quezon City Jail.

Jail Superintendent Maria Lourdes Pacion said there was no history of gang-related violence in the said facility. PNP chief Police General Jose Melencio Nartatez also sent a letter to the Sandiganbayan in January opposing the commitment of suspects under their care due to financial, manpower, and safety concerns. These were the odds stacked up against Estrada.

As of Monday evening, Estrada and accused District Engineer Manny Bumagat Bulusan, District Engineer Arturo Lombres Gonzales Jr., and Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna remained inside the city jail.

“The BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) reported that Cortuna was admitted at 5:47 pm, while Estrada, Bulusan, and Gonzales were admitted at 8:15 pm after undergoing the prescribed medical assessments. Upon medical clearance, they were admitted to the general population in accordance with existing custodial procedures,” said the DILG.

Bonoan was placed under hospital arrest after his blood pressure spiked while in Camp Crame.

On Tuesday, June 2, Estrada and his fellow accused will return to the anti-graft court for their scheduled arraignment. This is when they will enter a guilty or not guilty plea. – Rappler.com