VIGAN CITY, Philippines 鈥� Former Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Monday took a swipe at opposition senators, claiming that an actor-politician like him has filed more bills.
Estrada, who is eyeing a Senate return in the May elections, made the remark during the Hugpong ng Pagbabago鈥檚 (HNP) campaign sortie here.
He claimed that he had filed more than 600 Senate bills since becoming a senator in 2004.
鈥淪abi nila, bakit raw boboto ng artista? Bakit hindi? Nakita naman niyo, ang inyong lingkod, nakapag-file ng anim na daang panukalang batas (They were asking why would they vote for an actor? Why not? You鈥檝e seen for yourself, I鈥檝e filed 600 bills),鈥� Jinggoy told thousands of Ilocanos who trooped to the Tamag open grounds to support HNP鈥檚 senatorial bets.
The former senator then asked opposition senators how many bills they have filed in the upper chamber.
鈥淥h ngayon tignan natin 鈥榶ung track record nung ibang mayayabang na dilaw dyan. Ilang batas ang pinasa nila? Wala pa yatang singkwenta. Tapos sasabihin nila walang karapatan ang mga artista na manilbihan bilang isang Senador ng ating bansa,鈥� he added.
(Let鈥檚 see the track record of the arrogant 鈥榶ellows.鈥� How many bills have they passed? Maybe not even 50. Then they鈥檒l say that actors don鈥檛 have any right to become a senator of this country.)
鈥淵ellow鈥� is the political color of the opposition Liberal Party.
Among Estrada鈥檚 landmark measures was the Kasambahay Law, or the law promoting the interests and welfare of the domestic workers in the Philippines.
READ: Finally, Aquino signs 鈥榢asambahay鈥� bill into law
Estrada, along with his fellow actor-politician Bong Revilla, was jailed for their alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam in 2014.
They were accused of pocketing millions in kickbacks from fake projects allegedly with the help of the scam鈥檚 supposed mastermind, Janet Lim Napoles.
Estrada has been out on bail since September 2017. /ee
READ: Jinggoy Estrada camp posts bail