Sen. Ping Lacson refuted claims by detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada about the turnover of the Senate Pro-Tempore office after Estrada’s complete removal of fixtures.
Photos of Estrada’s former office appeared online, with reports saying it was left completely bare, including a toilet bowl, sink, carpet, tiles, wall panels, electric sockets and lighting fixtures.
Estrada previously served as Senate Pro-Tempore under Sen. Chiz Escudero‘s leadership. Estrada was later replaced by Lacson following the shakeup in September 2025.
Now, Sen. Tito Sotto III holds the Senate Pro-Tempore post, having assumed it in June 2026.
He was set to take over the office this week but learned that the previous occupant had stripped his new room bare.
Estrada, arrested on plunder charges related to flood control corruption, has been detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas since June.
The condition of his office at the Senate building caught a staff of Sotto by surprise, saying the “usual practice” is to just clear the furniture and not “damage” the floor and walls since the Senate was only renting a portion of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building.
Permanent fixtures such as electric sockets are GSIS property, they said.
“This is the first time that an office was left in such unusable condition. No correspondence whatsoever regarding this matter,” the staff said on Monday, October 5.
‘Standard practice’
Estrada’s office said that most of the items, like the floor tiles, glass panels, lighting fixtures, cabinets etc., “were acquired using personal funds,” stating that the budget provided by the Senate “was insufficient to cover all the expenses incurred.”
“It bears noting that standard practice in the Senate is for the senator occupying an office to renovate the space based on the budget provided, with any expense beyond that shouldered entirely by the occupant,” his office said in a statement.
“It is also worth mentioning, in the spirit of full transparency, that the said vacated office, when it was turned over to Senator Estrada in 2022, was likewise bare, following this same long-standing practice. Standard practice ito sa Senado at hindi na dapat ikagulat pa o gawin pang isyu,” Estrada’s office added.
“It must also be emphasized that similar instances of dismantling fixtures and materials from a vacated senator’s office have occurred in the recent past. This is neither new nor unusual — it is an established and accepted practice within the institution, and singling out this particular transition for scrutiny is both unfair and misleading,” it further said.
‘Walang tinanggal o sinira’
Lacson, meanwhile, refuted claims that he turned over the Senate Pro-Tempore office to Estrada in a similar condition.
“Walang tinanggal o sinira nang itinurn-over ko ang ‘Pro Tempore office’ noong 2022 na kalaunan ay inokupa ni Sen. Jinggoy Estrada,” he said in a statement on October 6.
Lacson said he left the office intact when he vacated it because its refurbishment had been undertaken using government funds.
“I take exception to the statement pertaining to the state or condition of the same Pro Tempore office that I turned over to Sen. Estrada in 2022,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Nothing was removed nor destroyed, precisely because government funds were used when I refurbished it when it was turned over to me,” Lacson added.
I take exception to the statement pertaining to the state or condition of the same Pro Tempore office that I turned over to Sen Estrada in 2022. Nothing was removed nor destroyed, precisely because government funds were used when I refurbished it when it was turned over to me. https://t.co/DOXv5Tu75k
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) October 6, 2026
Lacson also said that they only took out his “personal items like picture frames, wall clock and other stuff.”
The rest of the furniture, according to his staff, was “turned over to the Senate property custodian” when the senator moved out in 2022.”
By the way, I asked my staff about the missing pieces of furniture. I was told they were turned over to the Senate property custodian when I moved out in 2022 since government funds were used to purchase them. We only took out my personal items like picture frames, wall clock and other stuff.
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) October 6, 2026
Estrada served as Senate President Pro Tempore during Escudero’s Senate presidency from May 2024 to September 2025.
When Escudero was replaced as Senate President and Lacson was elected Senate President Pro Tempore, Lacson did not occupy Estrada’s office.
