MANILA, Philippines – Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who surrendered to agents of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on Monday afternoon, June 1, said he would remain part of the Senate majority bloc.

In a press briefing, Estrada said he would “remain firmly with the majority bloc under the leadership of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.”

“I will not yield to threats. I will not be intimidated. I will not be pressured into surrendering my independence of judgment,” Estrada said.

During the press briefing, Estrada was accompanied by Senate President Cayetano, and senators Imee Marcos and Rodante Marcoleta, members of the Senate majority bloc. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and PNP-CIDG personnel were also on the sidelines.

Estrada claimed he had received offers to leave the Senate majority but stopped short of identifying who made them.

“Kung sino sila, abangan n’yo na lang ang susunod na kabanata (Who they are, just wait for the next chapter),” he said.

“What’s at stake here is the independence of the Senate,” Estrada said as he slammed the podium. “It must be free from political coercion, free from undue influence, free from any scheme designed to weaken its constitutional role as a co-equal and independent branch of government.”

Estrada was part of the coup, along with Duterte-associated senators, that installed Cayetano as Senate president in May.

Since Cayetano was installed, there have been coup rumors. Cayetano’s leadership has been criticized following a series of commotion in the upper chamber.

To demonstrate that he has no intention of benefiting from public funds while facing the allegations against him, Estrada said he had instructed the Senate secretary to withhold his salary.

He also said he would not use the Senate “as a shield against the allegations” he faces.

Estrada further claimed that records from the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office show no evidence that he made budget insertions.

This is Estrada’s third plunder case in the last 25 years. He was acquitted of plunder twice — first in relation to the jueteng scandal in 2001, and then the pork barrel scam in 2014.

Other members of the Senate majority – Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva, and Marcoleta – are also facing allegations of plunder. Another, Senator Bato dela Rosa, has been hiding and eluding an International Criminal Court’s warrant of arrest for alleged crimes against humanity in relation to ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war.

Prior to Estrada’s arrest, the majority bloc attempted to quickly amend Senate rules to allow senators to join sessions online under “justifiable reasons.”

The process on how the amendment was taken up was questioned by the Senate minority, which led to a walkout that was seen as a quorum-busting strategy.

– Rappler.com