It was only proper to serve the arrest warrant against Senator Jinggoy Estrada over a plunder case, Malacañang said, questioning Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's call for Senate independence.

"Senate independence. Independence from what? Ano ba ang pinapalagan ni Senador Alan Cayetano (What exactly is Senator Alan Cayetano objecting to)?" Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro asked during a Palace briefing on Tuesday, June 2.

Castro also refuted attempts to link the arrest to President Marcos, stressing that he had nothing to do with it.

"Saan ba nakialam ang Pangulo? Tama lamang na i-serve ang valid warrant of arrest (In what way did the President interfere? It is only proper to serve a valid warrant of arrest)," Castro pointed out.

The Palace mouthpiece also questioned whether an arrest warrant should no longer be served in the Senate even if the warrant was valid and lawful.

"Ang ibig po ba niyang sabihin kapag nagsisilbi ng valid warrant of arrest sa Senado sa mga ganitong klaseng crimes ay dapat hindi isilbi (Does he mean that when a valid warrant of arrest is to be served in the Senate for crimes of this nature, it should not be served)?" Castro further questioned.

"So, iyon ang tanong. So, papaano magkakaroon ng pagtutulungan, kooperasyon ang bawat sangay ng gobyerno kung merong magmamataas, merong hindi tutupad sa batas, at merong maghahariharian. Hindi pwedeng ganun, lahat po dapat patas (That is the question. How can there be cooperation and coordination among the different branches of government if some act superior to others, refuse to comply with the law, or behave as though they are above everyone else? That cannot be the case. Everyone must be treated equally under the law)," Castro added.

The Palace official underscored that senators already know that if a senator is involved in a crime and there is a warrant of arrest, and if the offense carries a penalty of more than six years of imprisonment, that senator may be arrested.

"So, hindi po nga kailangan na sila ay humadlang. Mas magandang makipag-cooperate sila sa mga law enforcers. Yun po ang tamang proseso at yun po ang may paggalang sa bawat institusyon (So, there is really no need for them to obstruct the process. It would be better for them to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. That is the proper procedure, and that is what shows respect for every institution)," Castro said.

After the Senate majority skipped Monday afternoon's session, Cayetano issued a statement asking the minority to stand for independence and join the majority in letting the Senate fall silent following Estrada's arrest.

Malacañang also echoed the view of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla that Estrada was arrested and cannot be considered to have voluntarily surrendered.

Castro said that although Estrada earlier declared he would voluntarily surrender, he was actually arrested because the warrant had already been served before he could surrender.

"So, in other words, nauna po ang pagsisilbi ng warrant of arrest bago sa kanyang presscon--presscon ni Senator Jinggoy Estrada. So matatawag po itong pag-aresto dahil hindi po boluntaryong pumunta si Senator Jinggoy Estrada mismo sa mga law enforcers--hindi pumunta sa CIDG, sa PNP, o sa korte sa Sandiganbayan (In other words, the warrant of arrest was served before Senator Jinggoy Estrada held his press conference. Therefore, this should be considered an arrest because Senator Jinggoy Estrada did not voluntarily present himself to law enforcement authorities—he did not go to the CIDG, the PNP, or the Sandiganbayan, court on his own)," Castro explained.

"So, tama po ang pananaw ni Secretary Jonvic na hindi po ito voluntary surrender, kundi pag-aresto (So, Secretary Jonvic's view is correct—that this was not a voluntary surrender but an arrest)," Castro added.

"So, yung voluntariness was negated sa mga ganoong akto (So, any claim of voluntariness was negated by those actions)," she further said.

Although Cayetano was seen interfering when the authorities served the arrest warrant against Estrada, the act cannot be considered am obstruction ogf justice, Castro said.

"Hindi naman siya obstruction of justice, hindi naman niya tinago nagkataon lang na pinipigil niya. Dahil siguro ay iniisip niya siya ang Senate President, nasa lugar niya siya at ang sinasabi niya nga ay this is not for Senator Jinggoy but for the institution (It was not obstruction of justice, he was not hiding him; it just so happened that he was preventing him from being taken away. Perhaps because he believed that, as Senate President, he was in his own jurisdiction, and as he himself said, 'this is not for Senator Jinggoy but for the institution')," Castro said.

The Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division on Monday issued a warrant of arrest against Estrada and four co-accused in connection with the plunder case filed against them over alleged illegal budget insertions and more than P573 million in purported kickbacks linked to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) infrastructure and flood-control projects under the Fiscal Year 2025 budget.