MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Jinggoy Estrada has asked the Sandiganbayan to allow him to leave the country for eight days to accompany his mother to a medical checkup in Singapore. In his motion filed before the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division, Estrada prayed to be allowed to travel to Singapore from Oct. 1 to 8. Estrada assured that as in his previous travels, “he will comply with all the conditions of the Court” should it grant his motion. Estrada is facing plunder and 11 counts of graft before the Fifth Division in connection with the alleged misuse of millions of pesos of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel during his term as a senator. The Office of the Ombudsman, which filed the cases in June 2014, said Estrada’s projects turned out to be “ghost” or fictitious.

Source: Philippine Star September 28, 2018 07:41 UTC