DETAINED SENATOR Jinggoy Estrada endured knee pain in going to the Sandiganbayan only to keep his mouth shut during the arraignment of the plunder and graft charges filed against him in connection with the so-called flood control scandal.
With Estrada’s lips tightly sealed, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division entered a not guilty plea for Estrada, in accordance with the rules on criminal procedures.
In accordance with Section 19(c) Rule 116 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure “when the accused refuses to plead or makes a conditional plea, a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him.”
“Let pleas of not guilty be entered into the records of this case,” Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses said as he read the order.
Estrada’s lawyer Laurence Arroyo told reporters that it was the senator’s decision not to enter a plea, noting that they will challenge the motion to amend the information in the plunder case against the lawmaker.
Estrada, who arrived at the anti-graft court on crutches, was rushed last week to Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City after suffering a tear in his left knee.
According to Dr. Jose Fernando Syquia, the senator, suffered the injury after getting up from a seated position, when his knee suddenly made a cracking sound. Estrada has since been experiencing difficulty walking and severe pain, the doctor added.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division previously granted the Ombudsman’s motion to drop former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan from the plunder and graft cases due to Bonoan serving as a government witness against perpetrators of the flood control mess.
This decision left Estrada as the lone accused in the graft case pending before the Fifth Division.