The Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City. INQUIRER PHOTO / LEO M. SABANGAN II
MANILA, Philippines–Following his refusal to enter a plea before the Sandiganbayan, Senator Jinggoy Estrada was brought back to jail in Camp Crame on Monday morning.
At 11:20 a.m., Estrada left the court. He was boarding a white mini-bus escorted by several police mobile units tailed by the security entourage of Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.
He arrived at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center a little less than 30 minutes later at around 11:55 a.m.
Like his cellmate Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Estrada showed up at the anti-graft court without handcuffs and wearing a Barong Tagalog.
After refusing to enter a plea, the Fifth Division of the Sandiganbayan entered a not guilty plea for Estrada during the two-hour arraignment.
He is facing plunder and 11 counts of graft.
Estrada said he opted not to enter a plea because he has a pending petition before the Supreme Court questioning the Ombudsman’s decision on his string of charges
Shortly after the detained senator arrived at Sandiganbayan at around 8 a.m., Mayor Estrada came to express support for his son.
His wife Precy, siblings Jude and Jackie, and his mother former Senator Luisa Ejercito, who is also his personal physician in jail, were also present.
Estrada’s co-accused in his plunder case who were also ordered arrested were Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind in the scam; John Raymund De Asis, Napoles’ employee; and Pauline Labayen, who is Estrada’s former deputy chief of staff.
Meanwhile, Napoles is also on her way back to Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The detained businesswoman was carried by a highly-secured convoy led by the Calabarzon police Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB), PNP Special Action Forces (SAF) and Highway Patrol Group (HPG).
Being Estrada’s co-accused in the plunder case, Napoles entered a not guilty plea anew after doing so last June 26 with Revilla, her co-accused in a separate plunder case, at the First Division of the Sandiganbayan.
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