‘Not a flight risk’: Jinggoy asks Sandiganbayan to reconsider his bail

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has asked the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division to reconsider its denial of his motion to fix bail, arguing that he is not a flight risk and should be allowed to post bail despite facing charges that are typically non-bailable.

In a 13-page motion for reconsideration dated August 3, Estrada appealed the court’s July 24 resolution, which ruled that his entitlement to bail depends on a prior judicial determination that the evidence of his guilt is not strong, stating that the threshold issue was not whether he posed a flight risk.

Estrada’s defense team argued that the court can legally proceed to fix bail immediately, invoking the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Enrile v. Sandiganbayan.

In the motion, Estrada’s defense team said the Supreme Court granted bail to former senator Juan Ponce Enrile because he was not a flight risk, irrespective of the strength of the prosecution's evidence.

While acknowledging that Estrada is not 92 years old and does not have the fragile health of a nonagenarian like Enrile, his lawyers asserted that "these differences do not alter the essential point: accused Estrada is not a flight risk."

“To be sure, accused Estrada is not 92 years old, as Senator Enrile was. Nor does he possess the fragile health of a nonagenarian. Yet these differences do not alter the essential point: accused Estrada is not a flight risk,” Estrada’s lawyers said.

To prove he has no intention of evading the law, Estrada’s motion detailed his extensive history of public service and compliance with judicial processes.

He pointed out that, as an incumbent senator elected in the 2022 national elections, his term runs until June 2028, capping nearly 40 years of public service that began when he was elected vice mayor of San Juan in 1988, followed by Senate terms beginning in 2004 and 2010.

He also highlighted his record of compliance; his lawyers noted that the Sandiganbayan granted Estrada permission to travel abroad—including trips to Singapore, Japan, Europe, and the United States—on 18 separate occasions between 2023 and 2026, with Estrada complying with all travel conditions and returning to the Philippines each time.

Furthermore, upon learning that an arrest warrant had been issued against him in this case, Estrada immediately and voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement authorities.

• Latest
• Trending