Gov't prosecutors oppose Sen Jinggoy Estrada's plans to travel abroad
Government prosecutors opposed the plea of Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada for the Sandiganbayan to allow him to travel abroad starting December until January next year.
During a hearing on Thursday, Nov. 27, the prosecution told the anti-graft court that aside from Estrada’s pending graft cases, the senator is one of those being investigated in the “anomalous” flood control projects of the government.
Estrada’s lawyers told the court that the senator plans to travel to Japan from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31, 2025, and then to Norway, Iceland, and Austria from Jan. 5 to 15, 2026.
Estrada attended the hearing via video conferencing.
The prosecution told the anti-graft court: "The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has requested the inclusion of Senator Estrada in the look-out bulletin order because of his alleged involvement in the flood control scam. We would like this court to caution against granting the motion."
An Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (LBO) is a directive from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to monitor in the country ports and airports individuals who are currently being investigated.
Associate Justice Gener Gito instructed Estrada's camp to submit all the necessary requirements to back up the senator’s travel request, such as an itinerary, hotel booking, and travel authority.
While Estrada has already been acquitted of his plunder charge due to the reported misuse of his priority development assistance fund (PDAF) in 2004, he is still facing 11 counts of violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for reportedly pocketing P183,793,750 from his PDAF by endorsing the fake non-government organizations (NGOs) owned by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles in 2004.
He was implicated in the “anomalous” flood control projects after dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan 1st district engineer Henry Alcantara accused him and several other senators of receiving kickbacks.
Estrada has vehemently denied the claims and said that Alcantara's statements were nothing but "baseless lies."