Sen. Jinggoy Estrada Seeks Travel Authority for Abroad Trip
JINGGOY ESTRADA – The Senator asked the Manila Court to lift the Precautionary Hold Departure Order (PHDO) against him.
Amid the alleged involvement of several members of the House of Representatives and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the supposed flood control mess, some senators were also tagged in the same corruption issue. It has even led to change of leaderships in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Thousands of Filipinos joined the “Trillion Peso March” which was held twice in 2025 to call for an end to corruption and as well as demand accountability from the government officials involved in the flood control mess. The Independent Commission for Infrastructure or ICI which recently submitted its flood control documents to the Ombudsman was also created.
In the Senate, Sen. Chiz Escudero was replaced by now-Senate President Tito Sotto in the top post in the chamber. Aside from Escudero, another lawmaker who is also tagged in the flood control mess is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Estrada was the Senate President Pro Tempore when the flood control issue broke out. Amid his supposed involvement in the flood control scam, he joined the minority bloc. It was previously reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was set to issue a subpoena against the Senator over the flood control accusations.
A Precautionary Hold Departure Order or PHDO was issued by a Manila court against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada over the flood control accusations. Recently, the Senator made a move of seeking for an authorization to travel abroad.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada seeks for a permission to leave the Philippines for a “personal trip” amid an existing Precautionary Hold Departure Order. The Senator intends to visit Hong Kong, Macau and Japan from March 31 to April 5.
The DOJ said that they will oppose the request of Sen. Estrada to be allowed to leave the Philippines. According to Justice department spokesperson Polo Martinez, the Senator is allegedly a flight risk.
Recently, based on a report on GMA News, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has asked the Manila court for the lifting of the Precautionary Hold Departure Order (PHDO) against him. The Senator’s spokesperson, Bianca Soriano, confirmed the filing of an omnibus motion asking the court to reconsider its decision.
Soriano stressed that the rules require that there should be probable cause and the respondent must be a flight risk for a PHDO to be issued. Based on the report, she stressed that Estrada is allegedly not a flight risk.
“So we already attacked the evidentiary nature that there is no probable cause… and second, that respondent Senator Jinggoy Estrada is not a flight risk. As we’ve seen in Sandiganbayan, he has been complying with the necessary requirements for him to be able to travel,” the Senator’s Spox said.
Recently, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was grilled by countless netizens for asking a foreigner athlete during a Senate session if she had a Filipino boyfriend. He made the remarks during a Senate discussion about the naturalization of foreigner athletes.
