Philippine court orders arrest of ex-president Estrada’s senator son over graft scandal

A Philippine court has issued an arrest warrant for Senator Jinggoy Estrada, charging him with graft for allegedly receiving millions of pesos in an infrastructure corruption scheme. The Sandiganbayan, a special court handling corruption cases, ordered the arrest on May 29.

Estrada stands accused of receiving over 573 million pesos (approximately $12 million) in illicit payouts. He is the highest-ranking public official to face charges in connection with funds allegedly siphoned off for flood infrastructure projects in the typhoon-prone nation. While an arrest warrant has been issued for his graft case, it is expected that he will be able to post bail. His separate plunder case remains pending, with no immediate update on whether an arrest warrant will be issued for that charge, which does not allow for bail.

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As I have said before, if this is the price that I have to pay for standing by my principles and for what I believe in, then so be it.

The senator, who is the son of former President Joseph Estrada, has vehemently denied the accusations. In a statement released on May 28, he asserted that the allegations were "outright lies" and declared his intention to "exhaust all legal remedies." He added, "As I have said before, if this is the price that I have to pay for standing by my principles and for what I believe in, then so be it."

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outright lies