Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said he will exhaust all legal remedies after the Office of the Ombudsman filed charges against him, insisting that the case was pursued despite what he described as ignored evidence and procedural irregularities.
In a statement Thursday, Estrada questioned the filing of the cases before the Sandiganbayan, saying key documents were allegedly not given proper weight, including a certification from the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO).
According to Estrada, the LBRMO certification stated that it had no record of any budget insertion made by him in the 2025 national budget.
“Isa itong mahalagang ebidensiya na tahasang pinapabulaanan ang lahat ng alegasyon laban sa akin, subalit sadyang isinantabi,” he said.
He also claimed he was not given the opportunity to review the resolutions of the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman before the cases were filed, preventing him from filing the necessary motions ahead of the Sandiganbayan proceedings.
Estrada further questioned what he called the unusually fast handling of the case, saying the Ombudsman filed charges barely a week after the DOJ issued its resolution.
“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,” he said.
He argued that an independent fact-finding investigation should have been conducted first before charges were brought before the anti-graft court.
The legislator said the Ombudsman had earlier assured that the case would undergo an independent review and resolution based on its merits, but he claimed recent events raise questions on whether that process was followed.
“Batay sa mga pangyayari, malinaw na kailangang suriin kung naisakatuparan nga ang pahayag na ito,” he said.
The senator maintained that he would defend himself through the proper legal channels.
“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.
“Ipagpapatuloy ko ang paghahanap ng katotohanan at ang pagtatanggol sa aking pangalan sa tamang forum at alinsunod sa batas,” he added.