Jose Pimentel Ejercito Jr. (born February 17, 1963), better known as Jinggoy Estrada or Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, is a Filipino politician and actor serving as a senator since 2022 and previously from 2004 to 2016. He served as president pro tempore of the Senate from 2007 to 2013 and again from 2024 to 2025. He also briefly became the acting Senate President in 2013 after Juan Ponce Enrile's resignation. Before serving in the Senate, he was the vice mayor (1988–1992) and later mayor (1992–2001) of San Juan when it was still a municipality.
Estrada has been detained on multiple occasions in connection with corruption cases. In April 2001, he and his father, former president Joseph Estrada, were arrested and charged with plunder following the Second EDSA Revolution. He was released in 2003 and acquitted in 2007. In 2014, he was arrested and detained over the pork barrel scam, where he was accused of receiving in kickbacks. Although acquitted of plunder in 2024, he was initially convicted of bribery before the Sandiganbayan reversed the conviction later that year. In 2026, Estrada was charged with plunder, bribery, and graft charges against Estrada over alleged kickbacks from worth of flood control projects in Bulacan. After posting bail on the graft charges, he was arrested on June 1, 2026 on a non-bailable plunder charge and detained at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas. He was placed under a 90-day suspension by the Sandiganbayan on 16 June 2026.
Outside politics, Estrada, like his father, is also an actor who has starred in numerous action films. He won the Best Actor Award in the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival for the film Katas ng Saudi.
Early life and education Estrada was born on February 17, 1963, in Manila to actor Joseph Estrada and physician Luisa Pimentel Ejercito. Beginning in his childhood, he migrated to the United States with his mother and siblings after his parents separated for 18 years following his father's extramarital affair with Guia Gomez in the 1960s.
Estrada finished his primary and secondary education at the Ateneo de Manila University and earned a degree in A.B. Economics from the University of the Philippines Manila. He took up Bachelor of Laws for four years at the Lyceum of the Philippines University while serving as vice mayor of the then Municipality of San Juan at the age of 25. He was also bestowed an honorary Doctorate in Humanities in 2007 by the Laguna State Polytechnic University.
Political career Vice mayor of San Juan (1988–1992) In 1988, Estrada became the vice mayor of then municipality of San Juan. He was 25 and a member of the Liberal Party at the start of his term.
Mayor of San Juan (1992–2001) In 1992, Estrada became the youngest ever elected-local chief executive during the 1992 Philippine local elections at age 29. During his three consecutive terms as mayor, he spearheaded the construction of modernized barangay halls with daycare centers and various recreational areas such as gymnasiums, basketball courts and playgrounds. The renovation and repair of the San Juan National High School and other public elementary schools also took place, as well as the improvement and replacement of drainages, concreting of municipal roads, and the construction of the four-storey San Juan Medical Center and the San Juan Municipal Gymnasium. During his incumbency, San Juan gained the reputation of being one of the most progressive municipalities and the "most peaceful municipality in the Philippines".
During his final tenure as mayor, he was sworn into office as the national president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) from 1998 to 2001.
Arrest and detainment
President Joseph Estrada and incumbent San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada were the first elected officials to be charged with plunder under the Philippine Anti-Plunder Law. On April 25, 2001, Estrada was arrested alongside his father, former president Joseph Estrada, at their home in North Greenhills Village in Greenhills, San Juan over charges of plunder by the Sandiganbayan, upon which they were transported to separate prison cells in Camp Crame. Vice Mayor Philip Cezar succeeded Estrada as acting mayor of San Juan, while Estrada's half-brother JV Ejercito won the town's mayoral election in May and became mayor on June 30, 2001.
At the height of pro-Joseph Estrada protests in EDSA III, Jinggoy and his wife Precy Vitug-Ejercito were flown via helicopter to Fort Santo Domingo in Santa Rosa, Laguna under heavy security on May 1, 2001; his father was simultaneously brought to the fort in a separate helicopter, and placed in a two-bedroom detention cell with Jinggoy. By May 12, the two were transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City after they complained of chills and fevers, with Jinggoy also noting his chest pain. On June 18, 2001, Jinggoy was granted temporary liberty from June 19 to 23 for him to remove his belongings at the mayor's office in San Juan.
In December 2001, cardiologist Roberto Anastacio deemed Estrada to be suffering from heart problems caused by stress. With his heart ailments, Estrada was brought to the Makati Medical Center (MMC) at least five times during his detainment at the VMMC; his fifth visit to the MMC lasted for seven weeks (from May 17 to July 6, 2002) to recover from aspirational pneumonia, and was ordered to return by the Sandiganbayan due to a report alleging to have spotted him on June 11 attending actor Rudy Fernandez's press conference at a restaurant inside MMC. Estrada was released on bail on March 7, 2003, and visited his family at North Greenhills Village, but spent an extra night at the VMMC before leaving on March 8, 2003.
In November 5, 2007, Senator Estrada vowed to block the appointment to the Supreme Court of Sandiganbayan justices Teresita de Castro and Francisco Villaruz Jr. for convicting his father for plunder.
Senator of the Philippines (2004–2016)
In 2004, Estrada was elected as a senator. During his first term, he introduced at least 617 bills and resolutions and steered the passage of at least 16 bills either as a principal sponsor or principal author. Jinggoy is hailed as the second most productive and prolific senator, next to Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who filed the most bills and resolutions in the Senate.
On July 23, 2007, Estrada was elected as Senate president pro tempore.
On August 15, 2007, the Supreme Court voted 13–0 to uphold the Sandiganbayan's decision to grant his bail in connection with his plunder case before the graft court. His father, former president Joseph Estrada, was the main accused in that plunder case and was subsequently convicted but was immediately pardoned by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Jinggoy, on the other hand, was acquitted in the plunder charge. On September 11, 2007, he introduced Senate Bill No. 1556, proposing to make ROTC mandatory for all college students.
In 2010, he was re-elected as a senator, finishing in 2nd place. During the opening of the 15th Congress on July 26, 2010, he was re-elected as Senate president pro tempore.
During his stint in the Senate, he had been consistently hailed as one of the very few senators who scored perfect attendance, with no absence or late arrival during the chamber's plenary sessions.
Batas Kasambahay Estrada is the principal author of the Kasambahay Law, or the law promoting the interests and welfare of the domestic workers in the Philippines. Republic Act No. 10361, or simply the "Kasambahay Law", prescribed standards, privileges, and rights of domestic workers.
2019 Senate campaign Estrada ran again for senator in the 2019 Philippine Senate election. His half-brother, JV Ejercito, also sought a Senate reelection. During the campaign, the half-siblings had a disagreement in the idea of them running at the same time. He was named to the Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial slate. However, he lost, placing 15th in the final tally, while Ejercito ended up in the 13th place, just a spot outside the winning circle. After conceding defeat, he wished that Senator Nancy Binay would make it over Ejercito, with both senators vying for the last spot in the partial and unofficial count. JV Ejercito responded by telling Estrada that he placed 13th in his own hometown San Juan, telling him “It’s painful to accept that even in your own bailiwick you are unwanted".
Senator of the Philippines (2022–present)
Estrada ran once again in the 2022 Philippine Senate election. He was endorsed by Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), and was named to the senatorial slate of UniTeam alliance, openly endorsed the eventually successful candidacies of Bongbong Marcos for president and Sara Duterte for vice president. For the second straight time, his half-brother, JV Ejercito, also ran for senator on the same election. He won as the 12th placer, finally earning his third nonconsecutive term, while Ejercito was also successful as he placed 10th. Estrada chairs the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development and the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation.
In October 2022, Estrada said he was thinking of a proposal to ban all Korean dramas in the Philippines, saying that "if we continue showing Korean telenovelas, our citizens praise the Koreans while Filipino artists continue losing jobs and money." Estrada clarified that he was only frustrated "that while we are only too eager and willing to celebrate South Korea's entertainment industry, we have sadly allowed our own to deteriorate because of the lack of support from the movie going public."
On January 18, 2024, Estrada was found guilty of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery, as well as acquitted of plunder in relation to the utilization of the Priority Development Assistance Fund. He was sentenced to eight to nine years in prison for direct bribery and two to three years for indirect bribery. He was also ordered to pay a fine of . In addition to the criminal and civil penalties, the conviction also carries with it accessory penalties of suspension from holding public office and deprivation of right to suffrage. His legal team said that they would appeal the conviction. The Sandiganbayan in its August 22 Resolution acquitted Estrada of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery, based on reasonable doubt.
Return as President Pro Tempore of the Senate (2024–2025) Estrada was elected through a closed-ballot by the members of the Senate, which elected him to the position of President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines, a position he previously held from 2007 to 2013. Estrada was sworn-in by newly-elected President of the Senate of the Philippines Francis Escudero. On May 20, 2024, Estrada succeeded Senator Loren Legarda, who tendered her resignation. He was retained for the role in the subsequent 20th Congress. However, following Senate leadership changes on September 8, 2025, that saw Tito Sotto replace Escudero as Senate President, Estrada was replaced by Panfilo Lacson as the Senate president pro tempore and joined the minority bloc.
Involvement in the pork barrel scam
In June 2014, Estrada was subject to another plunder charged at the Ombudsman, this time relating to Janet Lim-Napoles' pork barrel scam involving in public funds. Two other senators—Juan Ponce Enrile and Bong Revilla—as well as more than two dozens individuals were charged with him. Estrada is accused of pocketing in kickbacks from fake projects.
A report by the Commission on Audit was released on August 16, 2013, showing alleged misuse of funds by lawmakers who allegedly endorsed part of their congressional allocations to bogus non-governmental organizations. The accusations were the subject of a Senate probe that began later that month.
The Department of Justice filed its case against Estrada, Enrile, and Revilla before the Ombudsman on September 16, 2013.