Jinggoy Estrada tells NBI: Social distancing observed at bangus distribution in San Juan

Published May 20, 2020 12:00 PM By NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS, GMA News

Former senator Jinggoy Estrada on Wednesday told the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that social distancing was observed when he distributed fish to residents in San Juan City earlier this month.

Estrada went to the NBI in compliance with an invitation from the NBI to explain his alleged violation of quarantine and social distancing protocols at the event held in Barangay Salapan last May 3.

The former senator and former San Juan mayor said it was not his intention to violate any law, saying he wore a personal protective equipment suit and a face shield at the distribution. He attached a photo of his quarantine pass and one of the event in claiming that proper distancing was observed.

He was arrested -- and released on the same day

-- over reports received by the police that physical distancing was violated and food was improperly handled at the event.

Estrada told the NBI he was given bangus (milkfish) from Zambales, more than what his family could consume.

"My question is, shall I watch these milkfish spoil and not consume and watch my constituents starve and suffer for not having one or shall I give it to them to at least ease their hunger for a meal?" he said in the letter.

"Anyone in my situation that time would agree that the latter option is best to be chosen. That was what I did," he said.

He said his intention was to help the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"And I do not think that helping feed the starving and poor is a violation of law. If helping the poor and the needy, as what I did, is wrong, I do not know what right is," Estrada said.

He earlier said the arrest was driven by local politics, an allegation that was denied by incumbent San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, who ended the decades-long rule of the Estradas over the city in the 2019 elections.—AOL, GMA News

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