MANILA, Philippines - Beleaguered Senator Jinggoy Estrada said he will file on Monday a motion for reconsideration in the Office of the Ombudsman after he and others tagged in the pork barrel scam were indicted for plunder.
In a phone-patch interview on ABS-CBN, Estrada said even if he expects the Ombudsman to junk his appeal, he will still exhaust all legal remedies to prove his innocence.
But at the same time, Estrada also expressed his readiness to be behind bars again, this time for his alleged involvement in the scam.
"Sanay na akong makulong," Estrada said in the television interview as he recalled the plunder case that was filed against him and his father, now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, when the latter was still the President.
Estrada, who is currently in the United States, said he will return to the country after the Holy Week to face the charges filed against him.
On Tuesday, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that plunder charges and other cases will be filed against Estrada, businessman Janet Lim Napoles, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr., among other personalities.
Senator Teofisto Guingona III, Blue Ribbon Committee chair, announced on the same day that the committee report on the pork barrel scam also recommends charges against Napoles, the three senators and five others.
Estrada criticized the Ombudsman and Guingona while describing the charges as an "April Fools' Day operation."
Read: April Fools! Jinggoy slams Ombudsman, Guingona for 'synchronized operation'
In the same ABS-CBN interview, Estrada maintained his innocence and reiterated that they are being singled out.
"Alam naman namin na moro-moro lang yan. Kaya biglang nangyare, mukha talagang... minadali yung kaso laban samin. It took them only six months to read voluminous documents. Sinabi nila truck-truck ang ebidensya laban sa amin," Estrada said.
"Wala po akong pinapakain sa aking pamilya na galing sa nakaw, na galing pork barrel scam, wala po akong kasalanan sa taong bayan," the senator added. - Louis Bacani