Philippine court gives not guilty plea for senator

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine anti-graft court entered a not guilty plea Monday for the second of three prominent senators arraigned in the country’s biggest corruption trial in more than a decade.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, son of former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, refused to enter a plea during his arraignment for plunder, prompting the court to enter a plea on his behalf. He allegedly pocketed 183 million pesos ($4.2 million) in kickbacks from a scam that diverted millions of dollars form anti-poverty and development funds allotted to lawmakers’ pet projects.