Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada on Thursday, May 28 said he is prepared to exhaust all legal remedies in fighting another battle in court.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada (Mark Balmores/MB)

This, after the Office of the Ombudsman formally filed plunder and graft cases against him and several others in connection to his alleged involvement in the flood control scam before the Sandiganbayan.

“We will exhaust all legal remedies,” Estrada said in a statement.

According to Estrada, his lawyers are currently preparing the appropriate steps to expose the irregularities in the process, as well as the evidence that would prove his innocence but was not given sufficient weight and consideration.

“Kabilang dito ang Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) letter na nagsasaad na walang anumang record na ako ay nagpasok ng anumang insertion sa 2025 national budget (This includes the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) letter stating that there is no record of me making any insertion in the 2025 national budget),” Estrada pointed out.

“Isa itong mahalagang ebidensya na tahasang pinapabulaanan ang lahat ng alegasyon laban sa akin, subalit sadyang isinantabi (This is a crucial piece of evidence that blatantly refutes all allegations against me, but it was deliberately set aside),” he stressed.

Moreover, the senator also lamented not being given the opportunity to see and scrutinize the resolutions of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Ombudsman in order to file a motion for reconsideration before the case was filed with the Sandiganbayan.

“Ang ganitong labis at hindi makatuwirang proseso ay may seryosong implikasyon sa aking right to due process (This excessive and unreasonable process has serious implications for my right to due process),” he pointed out.

Estrada, who now belongs to the 13-man Majority bloc, said he finds it noteworthy that the cases involving against him and several members of the majority bloc have progressed rapidly after the sudden leadership change last May 11 in the Senate.

“Barely a week after the DOJ issued its Resolution in my case, agad nagsampa ng kaso ang Ombudsman nang hindi nagsasagawa ng sarili nitong masusi at independent fact-finding investigation (the Ombudsman immediately filed a case without conducting its own thorough and independent fact-finding investigation),” he noted.

“Sa ilalim ng umiiral na proseso, mahalagang bahagi ang fact-finding investigation bago magsampa ng kaso sa Sandiganbayan (Under the existing process, a fact-finding investigation is an essential part before filing a case with the Sandiganbayan),” he stressed.

And this is despite the Ombudsman's previous statement that there would be an “independent review and resolution on the merits of the case,” Estrada pointed out.

“Batay sa mga pangyayari, malinaw na kailangang suriin kung naisakatuparan nga ang pahayag na ito (Based on the circumstances, it is clear that it is necessary to examine whether this statement was actually carried out),” he said.

“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 (I will continue to seek the truth and defend my name in the proper forum and in accordance with the law),” the senator reiterated.