Jinggoy undecided whether to support Binay or Poe in 2016 elections

MANILA, Philippines — Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada clarified on Monday that he has not made any commitment to support the presidential candidacy of Vice President Jejomar Binay in the 2016 elections or that of Sen. Grace Poe.

Estrada made the comment amid reports that he might seek a higher elective post as Binay’s running mate despite his incarceration in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel racket.

In an interview with reporters at the Sandiganbayan, the senator maintained that the decision of his half-brother, Sen. JV Ejercito, to support Sen. Grace Poe’s possible presidential bid was “not binding” to all members of their family.

“That is his (Ejercito) own opinion. But it is not binding with the decision of my father or of (our) family,” he said, referring to the clan patriarch, former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.

“But I am not saying… that I am not supporting (Poe) or Vice President Binay or whoever the potential candidates. In due time, maybe (I will announce my decision on who to support),” he told reporters after attending his weekly bail hearing in the antigraft court’s Fifth Division.

Poe, whose popularity as President Aquino’s possible successor suddenly went up in recent months, is the adopted daughter of the elder Estrada’s close friend, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., who passed away a few months following his failed presidential run in 2004.

Estrada, who is serving the last year of his second six-year term as senator, said he was still weighing his options regarding the upcoming national elections.

“Not yet,” Estrada briefly replied when asked if had decided to throw his support for Binay.

As to the possibility of teaming up with the Vice President as candidates of the opposition for the two highest elective positions in the 2016 polls, he said: “Why not? I really don’t know because I’m still detained. Maybe you should ask the Vice President.”

“But I would rather focus on my case now. If ever, I should be able to post bail first,” he stressed.

Asked if he would pursue his political career should the court grant his bail petition, a smiling Estrada quipped: “Secret. Let’s see.”

Estrada had been detained at Camp Crame since June 2014 after he was indicted for plunder and graft for allegedly embezzling P184 million of his pork barrel allotments through the scheme purportedly drawn up by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.