SENATOR Jinggoy Estrada is now detained at the Quezon City jail.
Estrada, who was arrested for plunder charges, was ordered committed by the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division to the Quezon City jail in Payatas.
The lawmaker was arrested on Monday, June 1, 2026, after the anti-graft court issued a warrant against him and several others over their alleged involvement in the irregularities in the implementation of flood control projects.
Named as co-respondents of Estrada were former Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan, and former DPWH Engineers Denryl Cortuna, Arturo Gonzales Jr., and Manny Bulosan.
Cortuna, Gonzales and Bulosan, who all surrendered to authorities following the issuance of the warrant, were also committed to the Quezon City Jail.
Bonoan, on the other hand, was temporarily brought to the Philippine National Police (PNP) General Hospital in Camp Crame due to health reasons following his surrender. He spent the night there.
The charges against the accused, according to the Office of the Ombudsman, stemmed from the “intricate mechanism, illegal budgetary insertions and project allocations within the DPWH infrastructure portfolio for fiscal year 2025.”
Estrada allegedly received P573 million worth of kickbacks after funneling funds into designated infrastructure projects through budget insertions.
Estrada is the first high ranking government official detained over anomalous flood control projects.
He and his co-accused were also facing graft charges to which they posted bail to last week following the issuance of arrest warrant.
This is already his third time to be put behind bars over corruption allegations.
In April 2001, Estrada was charged alongside his father, former President Joseph Estrada, over alleged corruption during the “jueteng” scandal era.
Estrada was eventually acquitted because prosecutors failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
From June 2014 to August 2024, Estrada was detained over accusations of involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam where he allegedly funneled P183 million of his pork barrel to the fake non-government organization of Janet Lim-Napoles in exchange of kickbacks.
Estrada was acquitted of plunder but was convicted of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery, a decision later reversed by the Sandiganbayan. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)