The Supreme Court, however, issued a 30-day restraining order against any indictment charges but that order will expire on March 22. Estrada's lawyers have filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court, which could delay the proceedings even further. It appears, however, that it's only a matter of time before the legal hurdles are cleared. Right now the government has at least nine cases for which they seek to indict Estrada on charges of bribery, corruption and economic plunder. As soon as a charge of economic plunder is filed in court, Estrada faces immediate arrest.
Economic plunder is a non-bailable offense and carries with it the penalty of death.
Although it's appearing more and more likely that Estrada will be arrested, hardly anyone can believe that it actually will happen. Nobody of his stature has ever been sent to jail in the Philippines. He is still wildly popular among a good portion of the poor masses. It's a potentially explosive question. The police are so worried over the prospects of trouble from Estrada's rabid supporters that they have formed a special task force solely to deal with the possible arrest of Estrada.