MANILA – Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Friday dismissed reports of any request from the Ombudsman to block Sen. Jinggoy Estrada from securing travel authority, clarifying that the chamber doesn’t require senators to seek permission for personal jaunts abroad – a procedural nuance that’s now under the spotlight as Estrada faces fresh scrutiny in the P20-billion flood control graft scandal.
In a no-frills DWIZ interview, Sotto quashed the speculation, revealing his office hadn’t received any formal communication from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla or the Sandiganbayan. “No, I haven’t received anything. If my office has received anything, I haven’t been told yet. We haven’t received anything, that’s one thing,” Sotto said matter-of-factly. He emphasized Senate Policy Order No. 2016-003, which mandates approval only for official travels. For personal trips, especially those footed by the senator’s own wallet, no heads-up or hall pass is needed. “The practice of the Senate is that when a senator leaves the country and is on a personal trip, at his own expense, he does not need to inform the Senate president. He does not need a travel authority,” Sotto explained.
The chatter stemmed from Estrada’s tangled legal web: Acquitted of plunder in the 2013 pork barrel scam but convicted of bribery, the veteran solon is now in the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s (ICI) crosshairs. The panel recommended plunder charges against him and ex-Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co for alleged 25-30% kickbacks on infrastructure budgets, including flood control fiascos that left communities soaked and coffers suspect. Estrada’s been jet-setting about a dozen times since his indictment, but Sotto shrugged off flight-risk fears: “If the Ombudsman wants something like that, he should write to the Sandiganbayan. And tell the Sandiganbayan, because the Sandiganbayan is informing Sen. Estrada, not me.” He added with a chuckle, “Then he’ll come back. He always comes back even if there’s a case. He didn’t escape even then.”
Estrada, 62 and a cinematic staple turned political fixture, has stonewalled the claims, insisting no pending Senate business ties him to Sotto. The DOJ is probing the ICI referrals, with preliminary investigations underway – a process that could drag if counter-affidavits fly. Sotto, ever the procedural purist, reiterated Estrada’s clean slate with the chamber: “He doesn’t have anything like that pending against me. And maybe if there is, it’s in the Sandiganbayan.”
This dust-up lays bare the Senate’s hands-off stance on personal peregrinations, even as judicial jaws clamp tighter on graft suspects. Amid the flood scandal’s deluge – ghost dikes, diverted billions, and the Trillion Peso March’s roar – Sotto’s clarification feels like a procedural pause button, reminding that while courts chase culprits, the Senate’s door stays ajar for wanderlust. For Estrada, it’s a brief breather in a probe that’s anything but scripted – will his next trip be to testify, or testify to his travels? As the Ombudsman weighs warrants, one thing’s clear: In Philippine politics’ plot twists, the real drama’s in the destinations unknown.