A Philippine court on Friday ordered the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada after he was charged for allegedly receiving millions of pesos in an infrastructure corruption scheme.
An arrest warrant has been issued against Estrada for his graft case, according to the Sandiganbayan, a special court for corruption cases. Estrada is expected to post bail.
There was no immediate update on his separate plunder case, for which he can’t post bail if the court orders his arrest.
The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday filed the charges against Estrada before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly receiving more than 573 million pesos ($9.3 million) in “illicit payouts.” He’s the highest-ranking public official to be sued for allegedly siphoning off funds intended for flood infrastructure in the typhoon-prone nation.
Read More: Philippine Senator Charged Over ‘Illicit Payouts’ in Flood Mess
The lawmaker, son of former President Joseph Estrada who was jailed for plunder and later on pardoned, on Thursday said he will exhaust all legal remedies. “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,” he said in a statement. He earlier denied involvement in the scheme, saying the accusations against him were “outright lies.”
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