Jinggoy asks court to keep him at PNP custodial center

MANILA, Philippines - Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who is facing plunder charges for alleged involvement in the pork barrel fund scam, asked the Sandiganbayan yesterday not to transfer him to Camp Bagong Diwa. 

Ombudsman prosecutors are pushing for Estrada’s transfer to the Taguig City Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa or any other jail facility controlled and supervised by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

The senator, however, is opposing the motion, arguing that his detention is not supposed to be a punishment since he has not been convicted of any crime.

In a supplemental opposition to the prosecution’s motion seeking his transfer from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame to Camp Bagong Diwa, Estrada stressed that he should not be and does not deserve to be placed in an ordinary jail facility.

Estrada told the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division, headed by Associate Justice Roland Jurado, that “no legal purpose” is served by putting him in a facility other than the PNP Custodial Center, where his continued detention is “not only legal, but also reasonable and practical.”

The lawmaker, who is currently serving a 90-day preventive suspension order, said those who insist on putting him in an ordinary prison cell only wish to punish him for a crime that has yet to be proved and for which he is still presumed innocent. 

He asked the anti-graft court to consider his argument that the PNP Custodial Center is a detention facility where he should be allowed to stay for safety and security reasons, considering that ordinary jails are overcrowded. 

Estrada said Supreme Court decisions have also recognized the legality of detention of an accused in places other than ordinary jails.

“The prosecution’s assertion that ‘the continued detention of accused at the present locations affords them special treatment’ is misplaced,” he said.

His lawyers also said that Estrada is differently situated from other prisoners as he is not an ordinary citizen.