Palace backs Remulla: Jinggoy Estrada didn’t surrender; he was arrested

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday backed Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s assertion that Senator Jinggoy Estrada was arrested and that he did not voluntarily surrender to the authorities.

The arrest is on connection with the non-bailable plunder case filed against him.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said officers of the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) arrived inside the Senate building on Monday to serve the warrant before the senator announced his intention to surrender.

“He did not go to the PNP-CIDG or the court. Therefore, Secretary Jonvic’s view is correct that this was not a voluntary surrender but an arrest,” she told reporters.

Castro clarified that while Estrada had publicly stated that he would voluntarily surrender, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and law enforcement officers were already at the Senate to serve the warrant of arrest issued against the senator.

According to Castro, Estrada merely requested time to issue a statement before authorities carried out the arrest.

“In other words, the service of the warrant of arrest came first before Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s press conference,” she said.

READ: Estrada yields as court warrant on plunder out

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued on Monday the arrest warrant against Estrada.

This came a day after he posted a P90,000 bail for a separate graft charge before the anti-graft court’s Second Division.

According to Remulla, he arrived at the Senate to implement the warrant of arrest against Estrada about 3:30 p.m.

The senator was then read his Miranda rights in the presence of his lawyer.

Estrada “peacefully” came to the CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame where he underwent standard booking procedures, before the police returned the warrant to the Sandiganbayan.

He is currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, Quezon City.

Obstruction of justice?

Castro also weighed in on the role played by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano during the tense confrontation with Remulla that unfolded inside the Senate building as authorities took Estrada into custody.

Cayetano attempted to block the arrest of Estrada inside the Senate premises.

But Remulla told him that he lost that privilege when Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa escaped on May 14, despite being under Senate “protective custody.”

READ: At large again: Bato dela Rosa sneaks out of Senate

Dela Rosa is wanted by the International Criminal Court over a case of crimes against humanity linked to killings during the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.

Despite the confrontation, Castro stopped short of describing Cayetano’s actions as an obstruction of justice.

“It was not an obstruction of justice because he did not hide him,” she said.

“It just so happened that he was preventing it because, perhaps, he was thinking that as Senate president, he was in his own domain, and as he said, this was not about Senator Jinggoy but about the institution,” she added. /apl