April Fools! Jinggoy slams Ombudsman, Guingona for 'synchronized operation'

MANILA, Philippines - For embattled Senator Jinggoy Estrada, it was a "synchronized operation" on April Fools' Day when the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and the Office of the Ombudsman announced on the same day their respective findings on the pork barrel scam.

In a phone-patch interview on ANC, Estrada said he is not surprised by the recommendation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that plunder charges and other crimes should be filed against him and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr. over the alleged P10-billion controversy.

Estrada said he was not expecting to receive a fair treatment from committee chair Senator Teofisto Guingona and other colleagues who had shown prejudgment and impartiality during the Senate hearings.

"I am saddened albeit not surprised that the Committee has issued adverse recommendations against me and two of my colleagues who were dragged to the controversy," Estrada told ANC.

Guingona presented a preview of their committee report in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The Office of the Ombudsman followed with an announcement that it will be filing various charges against the three senators and other individuals tagged in the scam.

Estrada criticized the succeeding developments from the two institutions.

"Clearly, kami po ay pinagplanuhan, pinagkaisahan at naging bikitima ng sabwatan para lang magpapogi ng imahe ang ilan naming kasamahan sa Senado. It is a very, very well-synchronized April Fools' Day operation," Estrada said.

The three senators are  facing plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman after allegedly pocketing kickbacks from pork barrel funds coursed through fake non-government organizations of suspected scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

In the same ANC interview, Estrada said they are being singled out and that the government should also go after other officials mentioned in a Commission on Audit report and by the scam whistle-blowers.

Estrada also again claimed that he had no knowledge of or participation in the alleged scam. He said he is ready to defend himself in court.